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

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

JS Error Logger shows at wp.org #17 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 10+ 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406) wp.org #1 2 Limit Login Attempts Security – Brute Force Protection, 2FA, Firewall & Login Security 1M+ · 4.8★ (1489) wp.org #2 3 Email Subscribers & Newsletters by Icegram Express – Email Marketing, Post Notifications & WooCommerce Marekting Automation for WordPress 50K+ · 4.6★ (1170) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 SMTP2GO for WordPress – Email Made Easy 40K+ · 5.0★ (67) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 WS Form LITE – Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (322) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Magic Login – Magic Link & Passwordless Authentication for WordPress – Login Without Password 3K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 SureContact – Newsletters, Email Marketing, Automation, Revenue Tracking & CRM 10K+ · 4.8★ (21) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 AffiliateX – Amazon Affiliate Plugin, Product Boxes, Comparison Tables & Affiliate Link Tracking 9K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 Coupzy Coupon Box for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.6★ (37) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 Missed Schedule Post Publisher 6K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 Duplicate Title Validator 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 CaptchaFox for WordPress 80+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #12 13 Social Login, Passkeys, Magic Link & Email OTP – Passwordless Login by VentraConnect 90+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 Bottle 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 PrimePlaced – Advanced password protection 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↓2 3 too low 16 G Graceful Extra 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 EPFolio – Explorer Portfolio Kit — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 DominoPost – Advanced Post Editor with AI Writer, Link Building Suite, Free Google Search Console & GA4 Analytics 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 SlyMetrics 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 Crawler Record 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑1 4 too high 21 Responsive Checker & Device Preview – Mobile Responsive Testing, Simulator & Developer Tools 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 22 JS Error Logger 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↑1 5 too high 23 HustlAI Appointment Scheduler — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 UV Realtime Crypto Dashboard — · 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.