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

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 “vrbo”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 3 of the top 19.

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

Booking Manager – Sync WP Booking Calendar – Import Events, Export Bookings to ICS Calendar shows at wp.org #2 but places #7 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Booking Calendar places #4 on merit, 4.8★ from 657 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 ICS Calendar 10K+ · 4.9★ (72) wp.org #1 2 HivePress – Business Directory, Listings & Classified Ads Plugin 10K+ · 4.9★ (221) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too low 3 Reviews Widgets for Google & 45+ platforms by Repuso 1K+ · 4.8★ (25) wp.org #3 4 Booking Calendar 40K+ · 4.8★ (657) wp.org #16 12 too low 5 Vachr Short-Term Rental Reservations 30+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #5 ↑3 6 Host Domination Booking Engine: Calendar Sync & Reservation System 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #6 ↓2 7 Booking Manager – Sync WP Booking Calendar – Import Events, Export Bookings to ICS Calendar 5K+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #2 5 too high 8 Booking Engine by Lodgify 700+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #8 ↑1 9 OwnerRez 800+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too high 10 Sacconi iCal Sync – WordPress Holiday Rental Calendars & iCal Booking Sync 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too high 11 CasavoLab Booking Manager — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 ↑1 1 too high 12 V Vacation Rental Calendar 60+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 Stayem Availability Calendar — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too high 14 GDA Kraft Booking – Vacation Rental Calendar & iCal Sync — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 Cabintale Booking Calendar — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 S Saksh WP Hotel Booking Lite — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 Mansio — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 Domilocus — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 19 HostAway Connector 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 2 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.