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

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 “vector search”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

Scry Search: Meilisearch for WordPress shows at wp.org #6 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 40+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 2528 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Ajax Search Lite – Live Search & Filter 70K+ · 4.8★ (266) wp.org #1 2 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too low 3 MapSVG – Vector maps, Image maps, Google Maps 1K+ · 4.5★ (31) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #10 ↓1 6 too low 5 wpForo Forum 20K+ · 4.7★ (390) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too low 6 WP Fast Total Search – The Power of Indexed Search 1K+ · 4.4★ (28) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7 AI Puffer – AI Chatbot & MCP Server for Claude and ChatGPT 10K+ · 4.6★ (166) wp.org #14 7 too low 8 AddToAny Share Buttons 300K+ · 4.7★ (1114) wp.org #15 7 too low 9 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #24 15 too low 10 AI Search for WooCommerce – Semantic Search 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #3 7 too high 11 Ultimate Maps by Supsystic – OpenStreetMap, Leaflet & Mapbox, No API Key 10K+ · 4.6★ (86) wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too low 12 Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps 10K+ · 5.0★ (70) wp.org #22 10 too low 13 MapGeo – Interactive Geo Maps 30K+ · 4.4★ (65) wp.org #18 ↑1 5 too low 14 MxChat – AI Chatbot & Content Generation for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 AI Search for WooCommerce — Semantic & Live Search 80+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #7 ↓1 8 too high 16 Reviews and Rating – Google Reviews 20K+ · 4.9★ (184) wp.org #20 ↓2 4 too low 17 Predictive Search for WooCommerce 700+ · 3.2★ (49) wp.org #8 ↓1 9 too high 18 Scry Search: Meilisearch for WordPress 40+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 ↑4 12 too high 19 AxiaChat AI – Free AI Chatbot (Answers Customers Automatically) 500+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 FileBird Document Library 5K+ · 4.9★ (8) wp.org #19 ↑1 1 too high 21 Searchips Search By Image for WooCommerce 10+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #13 8 too high 22 Mori AI Search 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 10 too high 23 WP Engine Smart Search AI 10+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Iris AI – AI Homepage, Chatbot & Site Assistant 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓1 7 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.