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

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 “union”, we agree with wp.org 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

WP Consent API shows at wp.org #11 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 200K+ 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

Cookie Compliance for WordPress – Cookie Consent, GDPR & CCPA places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 3026 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #1 2 GDPR Cookie Compliance – Cookie Banner, Cookie Consent, Cookie Notice for CCPA, EU Cookie Law 300K+ · 4.6★ (205) wp.org #2 3 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 SportsPress – Sports Club & League Manager 10K+ · 4.7★ (369) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Smartsupp – live chat, AI shopping assistant and chatbots 20K+ · 4.7★ (131) wp.org #14 ↑1 8 too low 7 Beautiful Cookie Consent Banner 40K+ · 4.5★ (95) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 Cookie Compliance for WordPress – Cookie Consent, GDPR & CCPA 800K+ · 4.8★ (3026) wp.org #22 ↓1 14 too low 9 NIF (Num. de Contribuinte Português) for WooCommerce 5K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #4 5 too high 10 EU VAT Assistant for WooCommerce 5K+ · 5.0★ (37) wp.org #16 ↑1 6 too low 11 Iptanus File Upload 10K+ · 4.4★ (117) wp.org #21 10 too low 12 Free Cookie Notice & Consent Banner for Privacy Compliance (GDPR, CCPA, DSGVO and others) 7K+ · 4.0★ (16) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too high 13 GDPRess | Eliminate external requests to increase GDPR compliance 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too high 14 User Admin Simplifier 10K+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #23 ↓1 9 too low 15 One Stop Shop for WooCommerce 10K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #6 9 too high 16 Packeta 8K+ · 4.0★ (9) wp.org #7 9 too high 17 WC – APG NIF/CIF/NIE Field 10K+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #17 ↑1 18 Portugal States (Distritos) for WooCommerce 5K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #13 5 too high 19 EAS EU compliance 200+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #18 ↓2 1 too high 20 Termageddon: Cookie Consent & Privacy Compliance 8K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #24 ↓1 4 too low 21 WEB-Translation – eTranslation Multilingual 500+ · 3.7★ (7) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 WP Consent API 200K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 11 too high 23 Monri Payments 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓1 8 too high 24 TranslateX for TranslatePress 300+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.