wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “total weight”

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 “total weight”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 5 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

USPS Simple Shipping for Woocommerce shows at wp.org #8 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 8K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.4★ average from 28 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

OMGF | GDPR/DSGVO Compliant, Faster Google Fonts. Easy. places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 213 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Weight Based Shipping for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.6★ (83) wp.org #1 2

Weight Based Shipping Table Rate for WooCommerce – Flexible Shipping 100K+ · 4.9★ (706) wp.org #4 2 too low 3

Cart Weight for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #2 1 too high 4

WC – APG Weight Shipping 6K+ · 4.3★ (49) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #3 1 too high 5

Discount Rules and Dynamic Pricing for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.7★ (248) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 ↑3 1 too low 6

Shipping Live Rates for USPS for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #7 ↑10 1 too low 7

WowShipping – Table Rate & Weight Based Shipping 700+ · 5.0★ (25) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #5 2 too high 8

Table Rate Shipping for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (74) wp.org #14 ↓2 6 too low 9

OMGF | GDPR/DSGVO Compliant, Faster Google Fonts. Easy. 300K+ · 4.7★ (213) wp.org #18 ↓2 9 too low 10

Conditional Shipping for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.6★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11

morkva UA Shipping – Nova Poshta, Ukrposhta, Rozetka, Nova Global 1K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #12 1 too low 12

Shipping Live Rates and Access Points for UPS for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.7★ (77) wp.org #17 ↓2 5 too low 13

Custom Shipping Methods for WooCommerce – Create Weight based Shipping, Conditional Shipping, Table Rate Shipping and much more 3K+ · 4.8★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too high 14

USPS Simple Shipping for Woocommerce 8K+ · 4.4★ (28) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #8 ↓2 6 too high 15

Weight zone shipping for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↓3 5 too high 16

PI Advanced Flat rate / Conditional shipping for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (58) wp.org #21 ↓2 5 too low 17

WP Fast Total Search – The Power of Indexed Search 1K+ · 4.4★ (28) wp.org #13 ↓2 4 too high 18

PI Conditional cart fee / Extra charge rule for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #22 ↓1 4 too low 19 D Disable Payment Methods based on cart conditions for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.7★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓2 4 too high 20

Shipping Live Rates for FedEx for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.4★ (27) wp.org #20 ↓2 21

Codiepress Advanced Rule Based Shipping for WooCommerce, Table Rate Shipping Methods, Weight Based Shipping 100+ · 5.0★ (7) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓2 5 too high 22

Hide Shipping Method For WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.0★ (25) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #23 ↑1 1 too low 23

Codiepress WooCommerce Conditional Shipping and Payments – Hide Shipping & Payment Methods 200+ · 5.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓2 1 too low 24

Weight Products for WooCommerce 20+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #19 5 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.