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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wire service”

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 “wire service”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 2 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

Gateway for Wise on WooCommerce shows at wp.org #8 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 134 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Spam Protection | Maspik 30K+ · 4.7★ (87) wp.org #1 2 Payment Methods by Product & Country for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.2★ (18) wp.org #2 3 Essential Real Estate 7K+ · 4.3★ (52) wp.org #5 ↑2 2 too low 4 Uncanny Automator – AI + Automation for WordPress | AI Agent, AI Page Builder, Free AI Usage Included 40K+ · 4.9★ (157) wp.org #10 6 too low 5 MxChat – AI Chatbot & Content Generation for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Charitable – Donation & Fundraising Platform (Donation Forms, Recurring Donations & Fundraising Campaigns) 10K+ · 4.9★ (219) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #7 ↓2 8 SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ · 4.9★ (134) wp.org #24 ↓2 16 too low 9 imoje 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 6 too high 10 NETOPIA Payments Payment Gateway 10K+ · 3.0★ (9) wp.org #4 6 too high 11 Komfortkasse for WooCommerce 100+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 Yatra – Travel Booking & Tour Operator Software 600+ · 4.7★ (23) wp.org #20 ↑1 8 too low 13 StoreEngine — Complete eCommerce Solution with Memberships, Licensing, Affiliates & More 700+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #19 ↑5 6 too low 14 Easy Invoice – Invoice Generator, PDF Quotes & Payments 600+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 Gateway for Wise on WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 7 too high 16 B Bitron Right of Withdrawal 400+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 O OneCode Login 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 4 too high 18 NIBWP – Self-Hosted MCP Server – Connect Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor & Any AI Agent via MCP 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 too low 19 PlatiOnline Payments 700+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 Tango Form Wire — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 B BlinkHub Wire Importer — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 5 too high 22 PressGo AI — Landing Page & Website Builder for Elementor 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 WooCommerce Shipping 70K+ · 2.0★ (18) wp.org #23 ↓4 24 Modern Hotel Booking — Direct Booking Engine, Availability Calendar & Vacation Rental PMS 10+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #22 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.