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

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 dates”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 6 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

Bandsintown Events shows at wp.org #4 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.3★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 1667 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Travel Engine – Tour Booking Plugin – Tour Operator Software 20K+ · 4.9★ (594) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too low 2 Travelly – Tour & Travel Booking Manager for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #1 ↑2 1 too high 3 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 iPanorama 360 – Advanced Virtual Tour Builder 4K+ · 4.5★ (31) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too high 5 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #5 6 WP Travel – Ultimate Travel Booking System, Tour Management Engine 3K+ · 4.7★ (164) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Spotlight Social Photo Feed 50K+ · 4.7★ (171) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps 10K+ · 5.0★ (70) wp.org #13 ↓2 5 too low 9 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #19 ↑2 10 too low 10 Tickera – Sell Tickets & Manage Events 2K+ · 4.5★ (292) wp.org #18 ↓4 8 too low 11 Event Booking Manager for WooCommerce – Sell Tickets, Event Registration, RSVP & Event Calendar 7K+ · 4.5★ (167) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too high 12 Yatra – Travel Booking & Tour Operator Software 600+ · 4.7★ (23) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too high 13 Panorama – Turn Photos into Immersive Virtual Tours 2K+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #6 7 too high 14 Appointment Booking Plugin – LatePoint | Calendar & Scheduling for WordPress 100K+ · 4.9★ (106) wp.org #23 ↓4 9 too low 15 WP TripAdvisor Review Slider 8K+ · 4.8★ (135) wp.org #22 ↑2 7 too low 16 BA Book Everything 10K+ · 4.2★ (20) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 Church Content – Sermons, Events and More 3K+ · 4.9★ (49) wp.org #24 ↓1 7 too low 18 Essential Real Estate 7K+ · 4.3★ (52) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 Bandsintown Events 4K+ · 3.3★ (8) wp.org #4 15 too high 20 Card Elements for Elementor 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too high 21 Tourfic – AI Powered Travel Booking, Hotel Booking & Car Rental 1K+ · 4.1★ (16) wp.org #15 6 too high 22 Travelmanager – Tours, Tickets & Bookings 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↓1 8 too high 23 WP Travel Gutenberg Blocks 800+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 Music Smartlink Maker & Concerts 50+ · 3.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑1 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.