Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “watching”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Spotlightr – Secure Video Hosting for WordPress, Courses & LearnDash shows at wp.org #12 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Gallery – Photo Albums Plugin places #10 on merit, 3.8★ from 277 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Stylish Price List – Price Table Builder & QR Code Restaurant Menu 3K+ · 4.7★ (117) wp.org #4 ↑2 2 too low 3 Advanced Responsive Video Embedder for Rumble, Odysee, YouTube, Vimeo, Kick … 20K+ · 4.2★ (169) wp.org #5 ↑2 2 too low 4 WpStream – Live Streaming, Video on Demand, Pay Per View 3K+ · 4.8★ (78) wp.org #6 ↑2 2 too low 5 Embed Plus for YouTube Gallery, Livestream and Lazy Loading with Facades 100K+ · 4.6★ (572) wp.org #13 ↑2 8 too low 6 WP Sessions Time Monitoring Full Automatic 400+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #2 ↑1 4 too high 7 FlatPM – Ad Manager, AdSense and Custom Code 10K+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #3 ↑2 4 too high 8 Gratisfaction- Loyalty, Rewards , Referral, Birthday and Giveaway Program 600+ · 4.8★ (205) wp.org #14 ↑2 6 too low 9 User Activity Tracking and Log 2K+ · 3.5★ (34) wp.org #7 ↑2 2 too high 10 Gallery – Photo Albums Plugin 2K+ · 3.8★ (277) wp.org #19 ↑2 9 too low 11 Social Boost: Giveaways, Instant win and Contests. Grow followers, shares, subscribers, traffic, referrals, sales and more 100+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #16 ↑3 5 too low 12 Datafeedr WooCommerce Importer 4K+ · 4.8★ (38) wp.org #18 ↑2 6 too low 13 Giveaways and Contests by RafflePress – Get More Website Traffic, Email Subscribers, and Social Followers 20K+ · 3.9★ (43) wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too low 14 UpsellWP – Upsell and Related Products Offers for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (149) wp.org #23 ↑1 9 too low 15 Movie Engine – OTT Streaming Platform for Movies & TV Series 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #8 ↓4 7 too high 16 I Inspectlet – AI-Powered Session Replay, Heatmaps & Analytics 600+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 ↑1 7 too high 17 Advanced Call To Action Block 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↑1 7 too high 18 Frontend User Notes 70+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 ↑2 3 too low 19 RoleMaster Suite – User Role Editor for E-Commerce, Membership & Admin Panel 700+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #11 ↑2 8 too high 20 Matomo Tracker 100+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #15 ↑2 5 too high 21 eBay Link 90+ · 3.4★ (5) wp.org #20 ↑2 1 too high 22 Spotlightr – Secure Video Hosting for WordPress, Courses & LearnDash 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 ↑2 10 too high 23 ABCode Cache Warmer 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 Hagakure – Yet Another Error Reporter 30+ · 5.0★ (2) 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.