Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “tagged”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 3 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

EqualWeb Accessibility shows at wp.org #5 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Advanced Dynamic Pricing and Discount Rules for WooCommerce places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 122 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Social Feed Gallery 80K+ · 4.5★ (303) wp.org #1 2 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (759) wp.org #2 3 OSM – OpenStreetMap 10K+ · 4.6★ (137) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Spotlight Social Photo Feed 60K+ · 4.7★ (171) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 Genesis Simple Hooks 20K+ · 4.6★ (22) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88) wp.org #14 8 too low 7 SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (816) wp.org #16 9 too low 8 Gift Wrapper for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (52) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too low 9 Back In Stock Notifier for WooCommerce | WooCommerce Waitlist Pro 20K+ · 4.7★ (122) wp.org #13 ↑8 4 too low 10 Advanced Dynamic Pricing and Discount Rules for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.7★ (122) wp.org #22 ↓9 12 too low 11 Send Emails with Mandrill 6K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #11 ↓1 12 E Easy UTM tracking with contact form 7 2K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too high 13 M Multi Device Switcher 10K+ · 4.3★ (11) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too high 14 Flex Posts – Responsive Posts Block 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #24 ↓5 10 too low 15 ImageLinks – Interactive Image Builder with Hotspots 1K+ · 3.9★ (9) wp.org #7 ↓1 8 too high 16 Restrict User Access – Ultimate Membership & Content Protection 10K+ · 4.3★ (94) wp.org #21 ↓3 5 too low 17 WPGraphQL Smart Cache 5K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #8 ↓1 9 too high 18 C Custom Post Type Widgets 10K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #20 ↓4 2 too low 19 Term Taxonomy Converter 500+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #15 ↓3 4 too high 20 EqualWeb Accessibility 4K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 ↓1 15 too high 21 Comment Mention 100+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #17 ↓3 4 too high 22 Add Plain-Text Email 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #19 ↓2 3 too high 23 Quentn WP 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↓3 5 too high 24 WPGraphQL for ACF 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 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.