Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “unsupported”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Plugin Memory Usage shows at wp.org #10 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 600+ 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

PHP Compatibility Checker places #12 on merit, 2.7★ from 131 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 C Clear Cache for Me 40K+ · 4.8★ (29) wp.org #1 2 Hyyan Integration for WooCommerce and Polylang 8K+ · 4.7★ (124) wp.org #2 3 Hide Shipping Method For WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.0★ (25) wp.org #3 4 Enlighter – Customizable Syntax Highlighter 10K+ · 4.8★ (65) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 tarteaucitron.io – Cookie Banner & GDPR Consent Management 10K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Send Emails with Mandrill 6K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #6 7 WP BrowserUpdate 1K+ · 4.6★ (16) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Embed Google Photos album 3K+ · 4.4★ (15) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Custom Add to Cart labels for WooCommerce 5K+ · 3.9★ (14) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Expire User Passwords 3K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #5 5 too high 11 AutoPoly – AI Translation For Polylang 5K+ · 4.6★ (30) wp.org #20 9 too low 12 PHP Compatibility Checker 200K+ · 2.7★ (131) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 Media Library File Download 1K+ · 4.3★ (7) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 Sitelinks Search Box 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #19 5 too low 15 iNext Woo Pincode Checker 600+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 Order Splitter for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #16 17 Fail2WP 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 Kodlo Media Manager 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 atec WebP 70+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 Plugin Memory Usage 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 10 too high 21 FooGallery Migrate 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 22 PuzzleMe – Interactive Puzzles for WordPress – Easily publish crosswords, quizzes, word searches and more 1K+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 UserCheck 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 10 too high 24 Mass Resizer 50+ · 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.