wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “ups api”
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 “ups api”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 4 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
SteadFast API shows at wp.org #3 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 8K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.3★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
W3 Total Cache places #8 on merit, 4.4★ from 5420 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Shipping Live Rates and Access Points for UPS for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.7★ (77)
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 
Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701)
wp.org #4 2 too low 3 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #8 ↓1 5 too low 4 
PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281)
wp.org #5 ↑6 1 too low 5 
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #10 5 too low 6 
API KEY for Google Maps 30K+ · 4.9★ (55)
wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #16 ↑8 9 too low 8 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420)
wp.org #18 ↑2 10 too low 9 
JWT Authentication for WP REST APIs 10K+ · 4.4★ (74)
wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too low 10 
WP Consent API 200K+ · 5.0★ (2) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #1 9 too high 11 
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #12 ↓3 1 too low 12 
Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012)
wp.org #17 ↑5 5 too low 13 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #22 ↓3 9 too low 14 
Disable XML-RPC-API 100K+ · 4.2★ (43)
wp.org #15 1 too low 15 
WPGet API – Connect to any external REST API 10K+ · 5.0★ (32)
wp.org #20 ↓3 5 too low 16 
Datafeedr API 4K+ · 4.0★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #9 ↓1 7 too high 17 
Contact Form to Any API 8K+ · 5.0★ (28) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too high 18 
JWT Authentication for WP REST API 60K+ · 4.4★ (53) not PHP-current
wp.org #23 ↓2 5 too low 19 SteadFast API 8K+ · 3.3★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviewslow rating, top placement
wp.org #3 16 too high 20 R REST API Log 5K+ · 3.6★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↓3 1 too high 21 
eCommerce Shipping Dashboard by UPS for WooCommerce 1K+ · 3.5★ (6) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #6 ↓1 15 too high 22 
Automated UPS Shipping for WooCommerce – HPOS supported 100+ · 4.6★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #24 2 too low 23 
SMNTCS Disable REST API User Endpoints 8K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓3 2 too high 24 
OPSI Israel Domestic Shipments 300+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↑1 11 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.