Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “swagger”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 4 plugins are 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

StarRestGate shows at wp.org #5 but places #10 on merit, a gap of 5 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

Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields places #2 on merit, 4.8★ from 418 reviews, but shows at wp.org #9. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP API SwaggerUI 2K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #1 2 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #9 7 too low 3 W WP OpenAPI 400+ · 4.0★ (5) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 A API Bearer Auth 300+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #12 8 too low 5 Popular Brand Icons – Simple Icons 3K+ · 4.7★ (10) wp.org #15 10 too low 6 FOXPOST – Packeta Group 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 ↑1 4 too high 7 iCARRY 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 Microtango 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too high 9 Theme Blvd Layout Builder 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #20 ↑1 11 too low 10 StarRestGate — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 5 too high 11 M MksDdn Collection for Postman 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 ↓1 4 too high 12 AJ Agent Crawl Optimizer – AI Readiness Scanner & llms.txt for WordPress 30+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 ↑1 6 too low 13 Omnirely Order Connect for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 5 too high 14 Forms Bridge – Infinite integrations 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↑2 15 Borges Bibliography Builder — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 DirectRelay – n8n WordPress Plugin: Workflow Automation, REST API, Webhooks & AI Agents — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 T Theme Blvd String Swap 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↑1 4 too low 18 D Document Generator for OpenAPI 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too high 19 DIY Assist — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↑1 3 too high 20 Debug Suite — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↑1 1 too high 21 SimpleSocial 100+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↑1 4 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.