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

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 “startups”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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.

Z

Ranked above its merit

zipaddr-jp shows at wp.org #5 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 50K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Dokan: AI Powered WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace Solution – Build Your Own Amazon, eBay, Etsy places #12 on merit, 4.6★ from 769 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 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 WooPayments: Integrated WooCommerce Payments 800K+ · 3.4★ (177) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 FileBird – WordPress Media Library Folders & File Manager 200K+ · 4.7★ (1125) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 1M+ · 4.9★ (4755) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Presto Player 100K+ · 4.8★ (346) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Mollie Payments for WooCommerce 100K+ · 3.6★ (69) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 OneSignal – Web Push Notifications 60K+ · 4.3★ (360) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too low 9 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too low 10 YayCurrency – WooCommerce Multi-Currency Switcher 7K+ · 4.8★ (114) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 MalCare WordPress Security Plugin – Malware Scanner, Cleaner, Security Firewall 100K+ · 4.4★ (559) wp.org #17 6 too low 12 Dokan: AI Powered WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace Solution – Build Your Own Amazon, eBay, Etsy 30K+ · 4.6★ (769) wp.org #20 8 too low 13 Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form, Quiz, Survey & Custom Form Builder with AI 90K+ · 4.9★ (375) wp.org #21 ↓1 8 too low 14 Responsive Team Members Showcase, Team Grid, Team Slider, and Staff List – Smart Team (formerly WP Team) 5K+ · 4.7★ (92) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 Z zipaddr-jp 50K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #5 10 too high 16 Awesome Support – WordPress HelpDesk & Support Plugin 6K+ · 3.5★ (194) wp.org #16 17 Superb Addons: Blocks, Patterns, Pre-built Pages, Sliders, Popups, Free Forms, Animations & More 80K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 Team Showcase – Responsive Team Members Grid, Slider & Carousel Plugin 2K+ · 3.4★ (24) wp.org #9 9 too high 19 Nooz 500+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #13 ↑1 6 too high 20 ContentBot AI Writer (AI Content) 400+ · 4.7★ (19) wp.org #23 ↓1 3 too low 21 Showcase IDX Real Estate Search & Lead Capture 2K+ · 3.8★ (35) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 toyyibPay for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #14 ↓1 8 too high 23 FormFacade – Embed Google Forms in your website 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 Ansar Import – Starter Sites & Template Library 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 5 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.