wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “status manager”
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 “status manager”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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
FAZ Cookie Manager shows at wp.org #9 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 30 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Custom Order Status Manager for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.7★ (117)
wp.org #1 ↑1 2 
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551)
wp.org #2 ↓1 3 
Download Manager 90K+ · 4.1★ (1006)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #3 1 too high 5 
Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463)
wp.org #8 3 too low 6 
Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012)
wp.org #5 ↑2 1 too high 7 
WP Job Manager 70K+ · 4.4★ (237)
wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8 
Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433)
wp.org #11 ↑11 3 too low 9 
Checkout Field Manager (Checkout Manager) for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.5★ (784)
wp.org #10 ↓2 1 too low 10 
WP Event Manager – Events Calendar, Registrations, Sell Tickets with WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.0★ (249)
wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too high 11 
WP User Manager – Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile Builder & Member Directory 10K+ · 4.7★ (350)
wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too low 12 
Easy Updates Manager 300K+ · 4.8★ (726)
wp.org #13 ↑2 1 too low 13 FAZ Cookie Manager 3K+ · 5.0★ (30)
wp.org #9 4 too high 14 
Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels 90K+ · 4.6★ (838)
wp.org #21 ↓10 7 too low 15 
My Calendar – Accessible Event Manager 20K+ · 4.7★ (159)
wp.org #17 ↓7 2 too low 16 
Stock Manager for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.2★ (130)
wp.org #14 ↓2 2 too high 17 
Safe Redirect Manager 40K+ · 4.7★ (78)
wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too high 18 
FluentSnippets – High-Performance Code Snippets, Header & Footer Code, Custom CSS & PHP Code Manager 50K+ · 4.7★ (78)
wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too high 19 
License Manager for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.6★ (147)
wp.org #20 ↓4 1 too low 20 
Quick Event Manager 1K+ · 4.9★ (67)
wp.org #22 2 too low 21 
Affiliates Manager 8K+ · 4.1★ (61)
wp.org #18 3 too high 22 
Premmerce Permalink Manager for WooCommerce 40K+ · 3.9★ (53)
wp.org #19 3 too high 23 
Block Manager 4K+ · 4.9★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #23 24 
Scheduled & Automatic Order Status Controller for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #24 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.