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

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 “vault”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 2 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

My Agile Pixel® – Self-Hosted Server-Side Tracking for WordPress shows at wp.org #7 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 300+ 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

JS Help Desk – AI-Powered Support & Ticketing System places #2 on merit, 3.7★ from 74 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 JS Help Desk – AI-Powered Support & Ticketing System 7K+ · 3.7★ (74) wp.org #14 ↑1 12 too low 3 Eazy Plugin Manager 80+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #10 7 too low 4 HIPAA Compliant Forms with Drag’n’Drop HIPAA Form Builder. Sign HIPAA documents 400+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #11 7 too low 5 I Inspire Commerce Gateway for WooCommerce 10K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Notice Vault – Hide, Manage & Organize Admin Notices 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 ↓1 4 too high 7 Snippet Vault 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Bookvault 800+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 5 too high 9 P Payment Gateway for PayPal Pro on WooCommerce 90+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 WC Moneris Payment Gateway 900+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 Guild Raid Progression for WoW and Raider IO 10+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too low 12 FileDeck – Document Library & Download Manager 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too low 13 AI Marketing Expert — AI Email Marketing, AI Content Generator, SEO Analyzer, AI Workflow Automation, Social Media & Ai Chatbot 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 8 too high 14 Local Links 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 FunnelKit Payment Gateway with PayPal for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 6 too high 16 My Agile Pixel® – Self-Hosted Server-Side Tracking for WordPress 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 9 too high 17 PayLexer – Payment Integration Solution for WordPress (Stripe, PayPal, Paystack, and more) 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 4 too low 18 Syncific Vault — API Key Protection & Security — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 19 Foxry Vault — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 20 Takumi Vault – Backup & Restore Manager — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 21 NMI for WooCommerce 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too high 22 VaraStudy Vault Access Control — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 23 Simple File Vault – Secure Client Document Manager, File Sharing & Frontend Uploader — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 BuildsByLuke Upload Vault – Secure File Uploads for Gravity Forms — · 0.0★ (0) 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.