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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “unique counter”

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 “unique counter”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Light Views Counter – Fast, Scalable View Counter for High-Traffic Sites shows at wp.org #2 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 3K+ 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.

Buried gem

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager places #7 on merit, 5.0★ from 1526 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #5 4 too low 2 Wp Social Login and Register Social Counter 70K+ · 4.6★ (67) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 SRS Simple Hits Counter 8K+ · 4.2★ (6) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1526) wp.org #17 10 too low 8 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #20 10 too low 11 Greenshift – animation and page builder blocks 70K+ · 4.8★ (107) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #18 6 too low 13 Simple Download Monitor 20K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #15 2 too low 14 Safelayout Cute Preloader – CSS3 WordPress Preloader 10K+ · 5.0★ (84) wp.org #19 5 too low 15 Gutentor – Gutenberg Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor 30K+ · 4.6★ (90) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 Getwid – Gutenberg Blocks 50K+ · 4.7★ (115) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Exclusive Addons for Elementor 50K+ · 4.7★ (47) wp.org #23 6 too low 18 PageViews Counter 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 14 too high 19 Light Views Counter – Fast, Scalable View Counter for High-Traffic Sites 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 17 too high 20 Animated Number Counters 2K+ · 3.4★ (5) wp.org #8 12 too high 21 WPZOOM Addons for Elementor – Starter Templates & Widgets 20K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 5 too high 22 MWR Hit Counter 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 15 too high 23 Sales Counter For WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 14 too high 24 Weblix Analytics – Real-Time Stats & Visitor Counter 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 2 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.