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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “sniffer”

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 “sniffer”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Swirv shows at wp.org #8 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its — installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

SearchIQ – The Search Solution places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 197 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Snitch 700+ · 4.0★ (27) wp.org #1 2 Meta Generator and Version Info Remover 10K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #2 3 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 SafeGuard Media Protection 100+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 WP Migrate Lite – Migration Made Easy 200K+ · 4.2★ (318) wp.org #19 ↓1 14 too low 6 ELEX WooCommerce Catalog Mode 10K+ · 4.7★ (17) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 SearchIQ – The Search Solution 1K+ · 4.9★ (197) wp.org #22 ↓3 15 too low 8 Plugin Check (PCP) 10K+ · 4.5★ (36) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 ELEX WooCommerce Product Price Custom Text (Before & After Text) and Discount 2K+ · 4.6★ (10) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Vimeotheque – Vimeo WordPress Plugin & Video Gallery 2K+ · 4.6★ (26) wp.org #21 11 too low 11 One Stop Shop for WooCommerce 10K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 ELEX WooCommerce Role Based Pricing 2K+ · 4.1★ (14) wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too low 13 wp-forecast 4K+ · 4.2★ (23) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 WP Mautic 5K+ · 4.9★ (8) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too low 15 W WP-OTP 100+ · 4.0★ (9) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 T Theme Grep by BoldGrid 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 12 too high 17 ELEX WooCommerce Name Your Price 500+ · 4.3★ (8) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too high 18 ELEX WooCommerce USPS Shipping Method 800+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too high 19 ImReso: Unlimited Target-Size Image Compressor 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 13 too high 20 SentinelGuard — Fraud & Checkout Protection for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 13 too high 21 Mattytap Sermons 60+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Swirv — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 14 too high 23 Bevel Kit — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 10 too high 24 Quick Multilingual 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 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.