wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wait”
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 “wait”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20.
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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
TSA Wait Times shows at wp.org #5 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 10+ 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
WP Chat App places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 222 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.
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820)
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 
WPC Smart Wishlist for WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (34)
wp.org #1 1 too high 3 
Enable Media Replace 600K+ · 4.4★ (302)
wp.org #3 ↑3 4 
Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703)
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
Nextend Social Login and Register 200K+ · 4.9★ (446)
wp.org #10 ↑1 5 too low 6 
Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641)
wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7 
Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259)
wp.org #12 5 too low 8 
Boxzilla – WordPress Popup Builder 20K+ · 4.8★ (133)
wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 
Shortcode Redirect 10K+ · 4.3★ (31)
wp.org #9 ↓1 10 WP Chat App 100K+ · 4.9★ (222)
wp.org #22 12 too low 11 
Flying Pages: Preload Pages for Faster Navigation & Improved User Experience 20K+ · 4.9★ (79)
wp.org #18 7 too low 12 
GA Google Analytics – Connect Google Analytics to WordPress 400K+ · 4.9★ (158)
wp.org #19 7 too low 13 
WP Downgrade | Specific Core Version 100K+ · 4.8★ (169)
wp.org #23 10 too low 14 H Hotfix 4K+ · 4.7★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too high 15 
Smart COD for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.6★ (52)
wp.org #21 6 too low 16 
CrawlWP SEO – Complete WordPress SEO Plugin with AI, Indexing & Search Performance 30K+ · 4.7★ (62)
wp.org #24 8 too low 17 
TemplateSpare – 1000+ WordPress Starter Templates & Full Site Migration Tool | 1-Click Import/Export & No-Code Builder 10K+ · 4.3★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #7 10 too high 18 
Wishlist and Waitlist for WooCommerce 100+ · 3.9★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #6 ↓1 12 too high 19 
YITH WooCommerce Waitlist 3K+ · 3.2★ (26)
wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too high 20 Z zipaddr-jp 50K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #15 5 too high 21 
Kansleri Cookie Consent 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #17 4 too high 22 TSA Wait Times 10+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #5 ↓1 17 too high 23 
Image Prioritizer 40K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #16 7 too high 24 
Pantheon Advanced Page Cache 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #20 4 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.