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

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 “solo”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 3 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.

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 it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Andreani WooCommerce shows at wp.org #7 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPConsent – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for Privacy Compliance (GDPR / CCPA / EU Compliance Cookie Notice) places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 84 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #1 2 Lightbox for Gallery & Image Block 20K+ · 5.0★ (88) wp.org #2 3 Appointment Booking Plugin – LatePoint | Calendar & Scheduling for WordPress 100K+ · 4.9★ (107) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 DX Delete Attached Media 3K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 BEAR – Bulk Editor for WooCommerce Professional. AI assistant on board (MCP Server) 30K+ · 4.7★ (228) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Asesor de Cookies RGPD para normativa europea 20K+ · 3.9★ (59) wp.org #8 ↓2 1 too low 8 Peter's Post Notes – Admin Notes for Posts and Pages 3K+ · 4.9★ (26) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 WPConsent – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for Privacy Compliance (GDPR / CCPA / EU Compliance Cookie Notice) 200K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #20 ↓1 11 too low 10 Adminify – White Label, Admin Menu Editor, Login Customizer 6K+ · 4.3★ (109) wp.org #18 ↓1 8 too low 11 WOLF – WordPress Posts Bulk Editor and Manager Professional 4K+ · 4.7★ (27) wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too low 12 EnvíaloSimple: Email Marketing y Newsletters 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #12 ↓1 13 FluentCart A New Era of eCommerce – Faster, Lighter, and Simpler 9K+ · 4.5★ (46) wp.org #24 11 too low 14 Ecommerce Fabrick 1K+ · 3.8★ (9) wp.org #6 ↓1 8 too high 15 Transbank Webpay 10K+ · 3.6★ (14) wp.org #10 ↓3 5 too high 16 Andreani WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #7 ↑1 9 too high 17 Protección de datos – RGPD 7K+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too low 18 Accesibilidad Web con el Widget de AccedeMe 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #23 ↓2 5 too low 19 Video Gallery – YouTube, Vimeo Gallery & YouTube API 1K+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #22 ↓2 3 too low 20 Fastcache by Host.it 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 ONVO Pay 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓2 7 too high 22 Ergonet Cache 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too high 23 Udimi Tools 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too high 24 Podigee for WordPress: Podcast Episodes to Blog Posts 600+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #21 3 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.