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

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 “win”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 4 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

WebEquipe Spin & Win Wheel shows at wp.org #4 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 60+ 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

Email Marketing for WooCommerce by Omnisend places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 169 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.

merit plugin signals wp.org

All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #1 2

Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701) wp.org #3 1 too low 3

Cart Abandonment Recovery for WooCommerce – Recover Lost Sales with Automated Emails 300K+ · 4.8★ (626) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #2 1 too high 4

Scratch & Win – Giveaways and Contests. Boost subscribers, traffic, repeat visits, referrals, sales and more 100+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Blackhole for Bad Bots 30K+ · 4.7★ (148) wp.org #10 ↓2 5 too low 6

Social Boost: Giveaways, Instant win and Contests. Grow followers, shares, subscribers, traffic, referrals, sales and more 100+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #7 1 too low 7

Brevo – Email, SMS, Web Push, Chat, and more. 100K+ · 4.1★ (284) wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too low 8

Popup Builder & Popup Maker for WordPress – OptinMonster Email Marketing and Lead Generation 1M+ · 4.3★ (821) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #8 ↑2 9

Weight Based Shipping for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.6★ (83) wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too low 11

Popup builder with Gamification, Multi-Step Popups, Page-Level Targeting, and WooCommerce Triggers 70K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #6 5 too high 12

Email Marketing for WooCommerce by Omnisend 40K+ · 4.9★ (169) wp.org #22 ↑1 10 too low 13

Mailchimp for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.0★ (726) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #15 ↓4 2 too low 14

Dokan: AI Powered WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace Solution – Build Your Own Amazon, eBay, Etsy 30K+ · 4.6★ (769) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #20 ↑1 6 too low 15

Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #24 9 too low 16

Deposits & Partial Payments for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (111) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #19 3 too low 17

WP Console – WordPress PHP Console powered by PsySH 20K+ · 5.0★ (21) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↑1 1 too low 18

WinRocket Raffle and Giveaway Campaigns for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↑2 4 too high 19

Subscriptions for WooCommerce with Stripe Recurring Payments 1K+ · 4.9★ (25) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #21 ↓4 2 too low 20

Lucky Wheel for WooCommerce – Spin a Sale 1K+ · 4.5★ (19) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #17 ↑1 3 too high 21

WebEquipe Spin & Win Wheel 60+ · 5.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #4 17 too high 22

Scratch and Win 100+ · 4.5★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #9 13 too high 23

Promolayer – Popup Builder & Abandonment Preventer 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓1 24

WooCommerce Payfast Gateway 30K+ · 3.0★ (7) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #13 ↑1 11 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.