wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “today”
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 “today”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 17 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
Date Today Nepali shows at wp.org #3 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 100+ 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
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! places #12 on merit, 4.2★ from 551 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Simply Schedule Appointments 50K+ · 5.0★ (155)
wp.org #5 3 too low 3 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #7 4 too low 4 
Converter for Media – Optimize images | Convert WebP & AVIF 500K+ · 4.9★ (1106)
wp.org #8 4 too low 5 
Online Scheduling and Appointment Booking System – Bookly 60K+ · 4.4★ (586)
wp.org #9 4 too low 6 
Years Ago Today 100+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #2 4 too high 7 
Beaver Builder Page Builder – Drag and Drop Website Builder 100K+ · 4.7★ (394)
wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too low 8 
Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1488)
wp.org #12 4 too low 9 
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #13 ↓2 4 too low 10 
WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement
wp.org #4 6 too high 11 
AdRotate Banner Manager 20K+ · 4.3★ (655) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too low 12 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) not PHP-current
wp.org #19 ↓3 7 too low 13 
Mercado Pago payments for WooCommerce 100K+ · 3.9★ (693) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↑5 2 too low 14 
Delivery & Pickup Date Time for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (282) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #24 10 too low 15 
MainWP Child – Securely Connects to the MainWP Dashboard to Manage Multiple Sites 700K+ · 5.0★ (71) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #14 1 too high 16 
Mollie Payments for WooCommerce 100K+ · 3.6★ (69) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #10 ↑3 6 too high 17 Date Today Nepali 100+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #3 14 too high 18 
Contact Form 7 – PayPal & Stripe Add-on 7K+ · 4.2★ (125) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #21 ↑1 3 too low 19 
Tides Today UK and Ireland tide times 100+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #6 13 too high 20 
Easy PayPal & Stripe Buy Now Button 10K+ · 4.5★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↑1 3 too low 21 
Minimum Purchase Amount For Woo Cart – For WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.7★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too low 22 
Today-Yesterday Dates 90+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #17 5 too high 23 
Extendify 500K+ · 4.7★ (10) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #18 5 too high 24 
Tides Today Tides and Weather 60+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↑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.