Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “typeahead”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

ACE Content Filters – AJAX Filters for Site Content shows at wp.org #10 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its — 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 CMB2 300K+ · 5.0★ (91) wp.org #1 2 Site Search 360 300+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #2 3 Events Search & Filter Bar for The Events Calendar 3K+ · 4.8★ (29) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 WP Fastest Site Search 100+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Seekmodo Search — · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 12 Step Meeting List 900+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #15 ↑1 9 too low 7 ACE Product Filters – AJAX Filters for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 4 too high 8 ActivityPub 6K+ · 4.9★ (40) wp.org #16 ↓1 8 too low 9 Scry Search: Meilisearch for WordPress 40+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Better Internal Link Search 1K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #24 14 too low 11 Jarvis 400+ · 4.9★ (13) wp.org #20 9 too low 12 Sieve – Faceted Filter for WooCommerce — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 Keyspider Site Search Plugin for WordPress — · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 Coywolf Search — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 5 too high 15 SuggestAPI — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too high 16 Transdirect Shipping Plugin for Woocommerce 300+ · 3.1★ (8) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 UK Address Autocomplete & Postcode Lookup for Forms & WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 ACE Content Filters – AJAX Filters for Site Content — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↑1 8 too high 19 MVP Docs — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 6 too high 20 Groundwork Common Location Finder — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 Lumenare Search 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Authenticate Sponsorware Videos via GitHub — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 MoveAdvisor Leads Form 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 Vieww Events Calendar – Recurring Events, Event Map & Calendar 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 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.