Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “tour”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

HappyVR – Virtual Tour Builder & 360 Panorama Viewer shows at wp.org #11 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 70+ 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

Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps places #12 on merit, 5.0★ from 70 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Travel Engine – Tour Booking Plugin – Tour Operator Software 20K+ · 4.9★ (594) wp.org #1 2 WPVR – 360 Panorama viewer and Virtual Tour Builder for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (133) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 Travelly – Tour & Travel Booking Manager for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 too high 6 iPanorama 360 – Advanced Virtual Tour Builder 4K+ · 4.5★ (31) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 WP Travel – Ultimate Travel Booking System, Tour Management Engine 3K+ · 4.7★ (164) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too low 8 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #12 ↓2 4 too low 9 Simple Tour Guide 200+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too high 10 Spotlight Social Photo Feed 50K+ · 4.7★ (171) wp.org #21 ↓2 11 too low 11 Yatra – Travel Booking & Tour Operator Software 600+ · 4.7★ (23) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too high 12 Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps 10K+ · 5.0★ (70) wp.org #24 ↓1 12 too low 13 Panorama – Turn Photos into Immersive Virtual Tours 2K+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #8 ↓1 5 too high 14 Event Booking Manager for WooCommerce – Sell Tickets, Event Registration, RSVP & Event Calendar 7K+ · 4.5★ (167) wp.org #16 ↓2 2 too low 15 Intro Tour Tutorial DeepPresentation 200+ · 4.8★ (24) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too high 16 BA Book Everything 10K+ · 4.2★ (20) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too low 17 Tourfic – AI Powered Travel Booking, Hotel Booking & Car Rental 1K+ · 4.1★ (16) wp.org #17 ↓2 18 Card Elements for Elementor 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #23 ↓1 5 too low 19 HappyVR – Virtual Tour Builder & 360 Panorama Viewer 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 Tour Operator 30+ · 3.8★ (6) wp.org #13 ↓1 7 too high 21 Bandsintown Events 4K+ · 3.3★ (8) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 WP Google Street View (with 360° virtual tour) & Google maps + Local SEO 300+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #22 ↓1 23 Photo Sphere Viewer – 360° Virtual Tour, Panorama, 360 Video & AR 3D Viewer 600+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #15 ↑2 8 too high 24 CBX Tour – User Walkthroughs & Guided Tours 40+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↓2 6 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.