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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “split comments”

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 “split comments”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 2 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

KosTeams Payments for Yandex Pay and Yandex Split for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #5 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 15 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

Popups for Divi places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 442 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 bbPress 100K+ · 3.9★ (343) wp.org #1 2 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #2 3 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too high 5 Envira Gallery – Image Photo Gallery, Albums, Video Gallery, Slideshows & More 100K+ · 4.7★ (1597) wp.org #11 ↓4 6 too low 6 404 to 301 – Redirect Manager, 301 Redirection, 404 Error Logs & 404 Monitoring 100K+ · 4.7★ (321) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too low 7 Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks – Easy Redirect Manager 100K+ · 3.8★ (162) wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too low 8 GD Rating System 1K+ · 4.3★ (24) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too high 9 Popups for Divi 100K+ · 4.8★ (442) wp.org #23 14 too low 10 FluentCRM – Email Newsletter, Automation, Email Marketing, Email Campaigns, Optins, Leads, and CRM Solution 80K+ · 4.8★ (250) wp.org #24 ↓2 14 too low 11 Pagination by BestWebSoft – Customizable WordPress Content Splitter and Navigation Plugin 5K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #16 5 too low 12 WP Accessibility 60K+ · 4.8★ (68) wp.org #20 8 too low 13 FancyBox for WordPress 30K+ · 4.6★ (92) wp.org #21 ↓3 8 too low 14 HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) wp.org #19 ↓2 5 too low 15 Fusion Page Builder 3K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #10 ↑1 5 too high 16 Better Search – Relevant search results for WordPress 5K+ · 4.4★ (61) wp.org #17 ↓2 1 too low 17 toyyibPay for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #6 11 too high 18 Comment Image Boost 50+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #8 ↑1 10 too high 19 Advanced Post Block – Display Your Posts Exactly How You Want 10K+ · 4.2★ (17) wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too high 20 KosTeams Payments for Yandex Pay and Yandex Split for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 15 too high 21 Block Emails & Addresses for WooCommerce Checkout 700+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #14 ↓2 7 too high 22 AWeber – Free Sign Up Form and Landing Page Builder Plugin for Lead Generation and Email Newsletter Growth 8K+ · 2.6★ (25) wp.org #22 ↓3 23 SureDonation – Donation Forms, Fundraising Campaigns & Donor Management 4K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↑8 10 too high 24 W Wbcom Designs – WB Ad Manager 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓2 6 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.