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

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 “vacation”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Holiday Mode for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #9 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 700+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.6★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Dokan: AI Powered WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace Solution – Build Your Own Amazon, eBay, Etsy places #12 on merit, 4.6★ from 769 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 signals wp.org

Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #2 1 too low 2

Store Vacation Lite for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (189) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #1 1 too high 3

MultiVendorX – WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace AI Powered Solutions 2K+ · 4.8★ (432) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #3 4

ShopEngine – All-in-One Elementor WooCommerce Builder with eCommerce Templates & Woo Widgets 100K+ · 4.6★ (212) wp.org #4 ↓2 5

VikBooking Hotel Booking Engine & PMS 8K+ · 4.8★ (61) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7

MotoPress Hotel Booking 10K+ · 3.7★ (65) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8

WP Airbnb Review Slider 1K+ · 5.0★ (56) wp.org #16 ↓3 8 too low 9

WCFM Marketplace – Multivendor Marketplace for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.6★ (449) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #17 ↓2 8 too low 10

WPBot – AI ChatBot for Live Support, Lead Generation, WordPress Automation, AI Services 5K+ · 4.7★ (124) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #14 ↓3 4 too low 11

Album Gallery for Photo & Video 4K+ · 4.8★ (26) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #10 ↓2 1 too high 12

Dokan: AI Powered WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace Solution – Build Your Own Amazon, eBay, Etsy 30K+ · 4.6★ (769) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #22 ↓2 10 too low 13

Business Hours Indicator 7K+ · 4.9★ (60) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #15 ↓5 2 too low 14

WC Vendors – WooCommerce Multivendor, WooCommerce Marketplace, Product Vendors 3K+ · 4.5★ (188) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #19 ↓3 5 too low 15

Availability Datepicker – Booking Calendar for Contact Form 7 – Input WP 10K+ · 4.1★ (42) wp.org #18 ↓6 3 too low 16

WPC Estimated Delivery Date for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.0★ (9) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #7 ↓1 9 too high 17

Vachr Short-Term Rental Reservations 30+ · 4.3★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #11 6 too high 18

External files in Media Library 500+ · 5.0★ (4) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #12 ↑5 6 too high 19

Holiday Mode for WooCommerce 700+ · 4.6★ (5) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #9 ↓2 10 too high 20

Ship Estimate for WooCommerce 100+ · 4.9★ (8) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓6 21

Advanced Datepicker – Restrict Date for Elementor Forms 900+ · 5.0★ (4) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓3 22

Host Domination Welcome Book: Free Digital Guest Guide for Vacation Rentals, B&Bs & Hotels 20+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #13 9 too high 23

Bizdesire Advanced Connector for Hostaway 70+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓2 24

Modern Hotel Booking — Direct Booking Engine, Availability Calendar & Vacation Rental PMS 10+ · 4.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #24

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.