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← Rankings

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

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 “stellar”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Stellar Manager Essential shows at wp.org #5 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its — installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Groundhogg — CRM, Newsletters, and Marketing Automation places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 150 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Gallery PhotoBlocks 3K+ · 5.0★ (76) wp.org #1 2 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #2 3 Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons 30K+ · 5.0★ (775) wp.org #3 4 ShortPixel Image Optimizer – Optimize Images, Convert WebP & AVIF 300K+ · 4.5★ (830) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 MyCryptoCheckout – Bitcoin, Ethereum, and 100+ altcoins for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.3★ (49) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Subscribe Forms – Beautiful Email Forms, Embedded Newsletter Forms & MailChimp Form 2K+ · 4.7★ (60) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7 PPOM – Product Addons & Custom Fields for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.5★ (283) wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too low 8 Groundhogg — CRM, Newsletters, and Marketing Automation 2K+ · 4.8★ (150) wp.org #12 ↓5 4 too low 9 Slider Hero with Video Background, Animation 3K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too low 10 All Currencies for WooCommerce 900+ · 3.8★ (9) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too high 11 Sky Addons for Elementor – 160+ Widgets, GSAP Animations, Templates & Theme Builder 2K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 IssueM 600+ · 4.1★ (13) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 MugglePay — · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #18 5 too low 14 Corexa crypto payment 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↑1 4 too high 15 Stellar Manager Essential — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 10 too high 16 Stellar Content Studio for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 REAL8 Gateway — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 18 Starry Sky – Interactive Night Sky Cover Block — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 PayKassa for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 Hesapis Market Data – Gold, Currency & Crypto Prices — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 Meum Crypto Payments for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 22 NoHoldPay – Non-custodial crypto payments — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 23 MyGate Crypto Payment Gateway — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 Planzio Event Calendar – Responsive Events Manager & Booking Calendar — · 0.0★ (0) 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.