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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “vote comments”

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 “vote comments”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Crowdsignal Dashboard – Polls, Surveys & more shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 200K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.7★ average from 34 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 874 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Comments Like Dislike 4K+ · 4.6★ (38) wp.org #1 2 Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 WP ULike – Like Buttons, Voting & Engagement Analytics 60K+ · 4.8★ (283) wp.org #3 4 Contest Gallery – Upload & Vote Photos, Media, Sell with PayPal & Stripe 1K+ · 4.4★ (89) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 WP-Polls 40K+ · 4.2★ (136) wp.org #5 6 WP Recipe Maker 50K+ · 5.0★ (356) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 WP-PostRatings 20K+ · 4.4★ (178) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Like Button Rating ♥ LikeBtn 3K+ · 4.4★ (273) wp.org #8 9 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #21 12 too low 10 Democracy Poll 6K+ · 4.6★ (86) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 SportsPress – Sports Club & League Manager 10K+ · 4.7★ (369) wp.org #20 9 too low 12 AJAX Login and Registration modal popup + inline form 3K+ · 4.7★ (120) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 GD Rating System 1K+ · 4.3★ (24) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 IdeaPush 700+ · 4.5★ (31) wp.org #9 5 too high 15 MainWP Child – Securely Connects to the MainWP Dashboard to Manage Multiple Sites 700K+ · 5.0★ (71) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 Stars Rating 1K+ · 4.7★ (23) wp.org #18 2 too low 17 Knowledge Base documentation & wiki plugin – BasePress Docs 2K+ · 4.8★ (75) wp.org #23 6 too low 18 Hide Admin Bar Based on User Roles – Disable the WordPress Toolbar by Role or Capability 20K+ · 3.9★ (20) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 Revopic – Photo Reviews for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (77) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 Happy FAQs – FAQ, Product FAQ & Help Center 1K+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 ePoll – Contest Poll Survey & Voting 1K+ · 3.9★ (24) wp.org #17 4 too high 22 Crowdsignal Dashboard – Polls, Surveys & more 200K+ · 2.7★ (34) wp.org #10 12 too high 23 Simple Feature Requests Free – User Feedback Board 100+ · 4.0★ (10) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Roadmap and Feedback Plugin for WordPress – SimpleBoards 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 9 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.