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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “the time”

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 “the time”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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.

O

Ranked above its merit

One Time Login shows at wp.org #8 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 40K+ 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

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 2144 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 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #1 2 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #2 3 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #3 4 Real-Time Find and Replace 70K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Reading Time WP 20K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 WP Date and Time Shortcode 10K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Visitor Traffic Real Time Statistics 30K+ · 4.1★ (233) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Backup and Staging by WP Time Capsule 10K+ · 4.0★ (128) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #23 ↓2 13 too low 11 Daily Prayer Time 1K+ · 4.9★ (96) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (816) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 WP Time Slots Booking Form 1K+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #13 14 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #22 ↓3 8 too low 15 Delivery & Pickup Date Time for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (282) wp.org #21 ↑1 6 too low 16 MX Time Zone Clocks 1K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 Dynamic Time 200+ · 4.7★ (21) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 Order Delivery Date And Time 1K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 Widget Visibility Time Scheduler 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #17 ↑1 2 too high 20 Time Clock – A WordPress Employee & Volunteer Time Clock Plugin 500+ · 4.9★ (8) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Meks Time Ago 10K+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too high 22 O One Time Login 40K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 14 too high 23 Date Time Picker for Contact Form 7 20K+ · 3.3★ (21) wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 Date Time Picker for WPForms 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 8 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.