wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “shipping plugin”
wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →
For “shipping plugin”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20.
wp.org search ranks on
Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.
We add
A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
WooCommerce Shipping shows at wp.org #4 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 70K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.0★ average from 18 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform places #9 on merit, 4.6★ from 708 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Weight Based Shipping Table Rate for WooCommerce – Flexible Shipping 100K+ · 4.9★ (706)
wp.org #1 2 
Weight Based Shipping for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.6★ (83)
wp.org #2 3 
Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303)
wp.org #6 ↑1 3 too low 4 
Shipping Live Rates for USPS for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (30)
wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too high 5 
Advanced Free Shipping for WooCommerce 40K+ · 4.8★ (122)
wp.org #8 3 too low 6 
morkva UA Shipping – Nova Poshta, Ukrposhta, Rozetka, Nova Global 1K+ · 4.9★ (29)
wp.org #5 1 too high 7 
Shipping Live Rates and Access Points for UPS for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.7★ (77)
wp.org #7 ↓2 8 
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833)
wp.org #14 ↓4 6 too low 9 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708)
wp.org #18 ↓1 9 too low 10 
Table Rate Shipping for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (74)
wp.org #11 ↓5 1 too low 11 
Shipping Simulator for WooCommerce 6K+ · 5.0★ (40)
wp.org #10 ↑10 1 too high 12 
No Shipping Message for WooCommerce 3K+ · 5.0★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #9 3 too high 13 
Payment Plugins for PayPal WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (127)
wp.org #21 8 too low 14 
Free Shipping Label and Progress Bar for WooCommerce 5K+ · 5.0★ (43)
wp.org #16 ↓2 2 too low 15 
USPS Simple Shipping for Woocommerce 8K+ · 4.4★ (28)
wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too high 16 
Shipping Live Rates for FedEx for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.4★ (27)
wp.org #15 ↓3 1 too high 17 
WC Hide Shipping Methods 20K+ · 4.2★ (44)
wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too low 18 
Conditional Shipping for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.6★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 
Hide Shipping Method For WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.0★ (25)
wp.org #17 ↓4 2 too high 20 
WC – APG Weight Shipping 6K+ · 4.3★ (49)
wp.org #24 ↓3 4 too low 21 WooCommerce Shipping 70K+ · 2.0★ (18) thin reviewslow rating, top placement
wp.org #4 ↓1 17 too high 22 
GLS Shipping for WooCommerce 2K+ · 3.7★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↓5 9 too high 23 
Shipping Live rates for Canada Post for WooCommerce 400+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #23 24 
Transdirect Shipping Plugin for Woocommerce 300+ · 3.1★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #22 2 too high Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.