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

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 “usercentrics”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 of the top 20. 3 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

Trusted Shops Consent-Manager shows at wp.org #12 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 50+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Compress – Instant Performance & Speed Optimization places #6 on merit, 4.5★ from 155 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Cookiebot by Usercentrics – Automatic Cookie Banner for GDPR/CCPA & Google Consent Mode 100K+ · 4.4★ (440) wp.org #1 2 WPConsent – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for Privacy Compliance (GDPR / CCPA / EU Compliance Cookie Notice) 200K+ · 4.8★ (82) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 Termageddon: Cookie Consent & Privacy Compliance 8K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Goolytics – Simple Google Analytics 3K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #4 5 Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1124) wp.org #16 11 too low 6 WP Compress – Instant Performance & Speed Optimization 9K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #20 14 too low 7 xSpeed Cache: AI-Powered Performance Hub with MCP, Caching & CDN 8K+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #19 12 too low 8 GDPRess | Eliminate external requests to increase GDPR compliance 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #15 7 too low 9 Usercentrics Privacy Policy Generator 900+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 6 too high 10 SV Tracking Manager 1K+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 CAPI Suite: Meta Pixel, Pinterest & TikTok for WooCommerce 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 Contentpass Integration — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 Mignuti Chatbot — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 EnConvert URL to PDF — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 fepo — GDPR Cookie Scanner — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 4 too high 16 HybridAI Chatbot — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 Stats4U — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 4 too high 18 Trackdolphin – Server-Side Tracking for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 Trusted Shops Consent-Manager 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 7 too high 20 Privacy Drift — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 USERCENTRICS CMP 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 4 too high 22 Ustun Conversion Tracking for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22

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.