wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “win back”
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 back”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 5 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
Drip – Marketing Automation for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #17 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
FunnelKit Automations – Email Marketing Automation and CRM for WordPress & WooCommerce places #9 on merit, 5.0★ from 346 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.
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 
Email Marketing for WooCommerce by Omnisend 40K+ · 4.9★ (169)
wp.org #4 ↑1 5 
Brevo – Email, SMS, Web Push, Chat, and more. 100K+ · 4.1★ (284)
wp.org #7 2 too low 6 
Mailchimp for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.0★ (726) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7 
Customer Engagement System – Popup Builder, Forms, CRM & Email Marketing Automation 9K+ · 4.5★ (340)
wp.org #11 4 too low 8 
Scratch & Win – Giveaways and Contests. Boost subscribers, traffic, repeat visits, referrals, sales and more 100+ · 4.7★ (30)
wp.org #6 2 too high 9 FunnelKit Automations – Email Marketing Automation and CRM for WordPress & WooCommerce 20K+ · 5.0★ (346)
wp.org #16 7 too low 10 
Mail Mint – Email Marketing, Automation & WooCommerce Emails with AI Assistance 4K+ · 4.7★ (125)
wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too low 11 
Sender – Newsletter, SMS and Email Marketing Automation for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.8★ (83)
wp.org #14 3 too low 12 
Email Subscribers & Newsletters by Icegram Express – Email Marketing, Post Notifications & WooCommerce Marekting Automation for WordPress 50K+ · 4.6★ (1170) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 6 too low 13 
WebToffee eCommerce Marketing Automation – Email marketing, Popups, Email customizer 10K+ · 4.8★ (54) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #10 3 too high 14 
Subscriptions for WooCommerce with Stripe Recurring Payments 1K+ · 4.9★ (25) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 6 too high 15 
SMS Abandoned Cart Recovery – CartBoss 400+ · 4.9★ (29) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 6 too high 16 
Charitable – Donation & Fundraising Platform (Donation Forms, Recurring Donations & Fundraising Campaigns) 10K+ · 4.9★ (219) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #19 ↑4 3 too low 17 
Social Boost: Giveaways, Instant win and Contests. Grow followers, shares, subscribers, traffic, referrals, sales and more 100+ · 5.0★ (25)
wp.org #15 2 too high 18 
Retainful – WooCommerce Abandoned Cart, Newsletters, Email Marketing, Signup Forms and Automation 1K+ · 4.9★ (98) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 2 too low 19 
Popup builder with Gamification, Multi-Step Popups, Page-Level Targeting, and WooCommerce Triggers 70K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too high 20 
FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35)
wp.org #22 2 too low 21 
Recapture for Easy Digital Downloads 500+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓2 2 too low 22 
Cart Lift – Abandoned Cart Recovery for WooCommerce and EDD 900+ · 4.8★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too high 23 
Lucky Wheel for WooCommerce – Spin a Sale 1K+ · 4.5★ (19) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Drip – Marketing Automation for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #17 7 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.