Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “simple tabs”

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 “simple tabs”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

AffiliateWP – Affiliate Area Tabs shows at wp.org #13 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Seriously Simple Podcasting places #7 on merit, 4.7★ from 330 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #1 2 Simple Membership 40K+ · 4.6★ (475) wp.org #2 3 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #3 4 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Simple Share Buttons Adder 40K+ · 4.3★ (627) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Simple Download Monitor 20K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Seriously Simple Podcasting 20K+ · 4.7★ (330) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 Simple Author Box 90K+ · 4.3★ (115) wp.org #8 9 Simple Side Tab 10K+ · 4.8★ (22) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Simple Page Ordering 100K+ · 4.7★ (131) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 Gutena Tabs 6K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #4 7 too high 12 Simple Shopping Cart 10K+ · 4.6★ (215) wp.org #16 4 too low 13 Simple Sitemap – Responsive HTML Sitemap for WordPress 60K+ · 3.9★ (72) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Simple Social Media Share Buttons – Social Sharing for Everyone 20K+ · 4.8★ (194) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 Simple Job Board 10K+ · 4.7★ (133) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #20 4 too low 17 E Expand Tabs for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 Simple Floating Menu 10K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 Responsive Tabs 4K+ · 4.2★ (41) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 WPC Product Tabs for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Tab Ultimate 1K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #14 7 too high 22 AffiliateWP – Affiliate Area Tabs 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 9 too high 23 Responsive Tabs For Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 Tabs Block 400+ · 3.5★ (4) wp.org #24

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.