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← Rankings

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

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 “surprise”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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.

F

Ranked above its merit

FameTheme Demo Importer shows at wp.org #6 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 30K+ 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

WPConsent – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for Privacy Compliance (GDPR / CCPA / EU Compliance Cookie Notice) places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 85 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 PW WooCommerce Bulk Edit 20K+ · 4.9★ (238) wp.org #1 2 Joinchat – Enhanced “click to chat” 700K+ · 4.7★ (189) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 Greenshift – animation and page builder blocks 70K+ · 4.8★ (107) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 ELEX WooCommerce Discount Per Payment Method 1K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #2 ↑1 2 too high 5 WC Cancel Order 5K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Online Booking & Scheduling Calendar by vcita 1K+ · 3.9★ (117) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 WPConsent – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for Privacy Compliance (GDPR / CCPA / EU Compliance Cookie Notice) 200K+ · 4.8★ (85) wp.org #13 ↑1 6 too low 8 Easyship WooCommerce Shipping Rates 2K+ · 4.2★ (54) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 PayPal POS for WooCommerce 4K+ · 3.5★ (21) wp.org #5 4 too high 10 SureContact – Newsletters, Email Marketing, Automation, Revenue Tracking & CRM 10K+ · 4.8★ (21) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 Fluent Booking – The Ultimate Appointments Scheduling, Events Booking, Events Calendar Solution 20K+ · 4.7★ (46) wp.org #19 ↓4 8 too low 12 Power Coupons for WooCommerce 30K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 8 too high 13 AffiliateX – Amazon Affiliate Plugin, Product Boxes, Comparison Tables & Affiliate Link Tracking 9K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #17 ↑2 4 too low 14 TaxCloud for WooCommerce 500+ · 4.0★ (11) wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too low 15 CrowdHandler virtual waiting room 100+ · 3.4★ (5) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 F FameTheme Demo Importer 30K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 10 too high 17 Tree-Nation for WooCommerce 100+ · 3.8★ (5) wp.org #22 ↓8 5 too low 18 Static Porter 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↑1 3 too high 19 Kickflip product configurators 200+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 Product Fees for WooCommerce 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too low 21 WooCommerce Gateway Affirm 6K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 2 too low 22 UserCheck 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Podigee for WordPress: Podcast Episodes to Blog Posts 600+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #14 9 too high 24 Dashboard: Available Disk Space 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 ↓3

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.