Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “subscribe here”

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 “subscribe here”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Easy Subscribe shows at wp.org #1 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 1K+ 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

Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 1911 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 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 MailChimp Subscribe Form, Optin Builder, PopUp Builder, Form Builder 2K+ · 4.0★ (65) wp.org #2 3 MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress 1M+ · 4.8★ (1497) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #12 8 too low 5 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #10 ↑5 5 too low 6 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #14 ↓3 8 too low 7 User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738) wp.org #15 ↓1 8 too low 8 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too low 9 Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ · 4.2★ (386) wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too low 10 Mailchimp List Subscribe Form 60K+ · 2.6★ (77) wp.org #4 6 too high 11 Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons 10K+ · 4.9★ (1911) wp.org #23 ↓2 12 too low 12 Beaver Builder Page Builder – Drag and Drop Website Builder 100K+ · 4.7★ (394) wp.org #19 ↓2 7 too low 13 Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (592) wp.org #21 ↓2 8 too low 14 Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (108) wp.org #16 ↓3 2 too low 15 UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP 20K+ · 4.7★ (183) wp.org #18 ↓2 3 too low 16 Download After Email – Subscribe & Download Form Plugin 7K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #9 7 too high 17 Back In Stock Notifier for WooCommerce | WooCommerce Waitlist Pro 20K+ · 4.7★ (122) wp.org #17 18 Subscribe To Comments Checkbox 100+ · 4.9★ (9) wp.org #6 12 too high 19 Affiliate Program Suite — SliceWP Affiliates 10K+ · 4.9★ (111) wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too low 20 Easy Subscribe 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 19 too high 21 Subscribe to Unlock Lite – Opt In Content Locker Plugin for WordPress 500+ · 3.9★ (10) wp.org #5 16 too high 22 Event Organiser 20K+ · 4.6★ (140) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Kit (formerly ConvertKit) for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too high 24 Subscribe to Download Lite – Email Before Download Plugin 300+ · 3.0★ (4) wp.org #8 16 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.