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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “slots 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 “slots plugin”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

Fatal Plugin Auto Deactivator – Never let a plugin break your site shows at wp.org #14 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Booking Calendar places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 657 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Time Slots Booking Form 1K+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #1 2 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #2 3 Appointment Booking Plugin – LatePoint | Calendar & Scheduling for WordPress 100K+ · 4.9★ (107) wp.org #3 4 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #4 5 Five Star Restaurant Reservations – WordPress Booking Plugin 10K+ · 4.7★ (211) wp.org #5 ↑11 6 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 Booking for Appointments and Events Calendar – Amelia 90K+ · 4.6★ (793) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Patchstack – WordPress & Plugins Security 100K+ · 4.8★ (62) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too high 9 ECS – Ele Custom Skin for Elementor 100K+ · 4.6★ (117) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too high 10 Easy Appointment Booking & Scheduling Plugin – Webba Booking Calendar 2K+ · 4.9★ (159) wp.org #10 ↓1 11 Simply Schedule Appointments 50K+ · 5.0★ (155) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 Booking Calendar 40K+ · 4.8★ (657) wp.org #17 ↓2 5 too low 13 Easy Appointments 10K+ · 4.3★ (131) wp.org #16 ↑2 3 too low 14 Easy Booking – WooCommerce Booking & Reservation Plugin 4K+ · 4.7★ (63) wp.org #15 ↓3 1 too low 15 Delivery Date Time & Pickup for WooCommerce 400+ · 4.2★ (113) wp.org #20 5 too low 16 Time Slot – Booking and Appointment System 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #9 ↓1 7 too high 17 Order Delivery Date And Time 1K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #23 ↓1 6 too low 18 Booqable Rental Plugin 1K+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #18 ↓1 19 Koalendar – Easy Appointment Scheduling & Booking Plugin 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #24 ↓1 5 too low 20 MLSImport: IDX Plugin & MLS Plugin for Real Estate Listings 5K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #12 ↓2 8 too high 21 Rox Appointment Booking – Event, Calendar & Appointment Scheduling 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #21 22 Business Essentials for Contact Form 7 7K+ · 3.3★ (10) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 Fatal Plugin Auto Deactivator – Never let a plugin break your site 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 9 too high 24 Booking Slots For Elementor Forms 20+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.