wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “woocommerce subscriptions”
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 “woocommerce subscriptions”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 8 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
WooCommerce Tax (formerly WooCommerce Shipping & Tax) shows at wp.org #11 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 500K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.0★ average from 105 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 1071 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #1 2 
Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270)
wp.org #5 3 too low 3 
Subscriptions for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (180) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement
wp.org #2 ↑1 2 too high 5 
MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) heavy footprint
wp.org #9 ↓2 4 too low 6 
Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too low 7 
Germanized for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (496)
wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too low 8 
WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement
wp.org #3 ↓1 5 too high 9 
Payment Plugins for PayPal WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (127) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 ↑8 1 too high 10 Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.7★ (1071)
wp.org #21 ↑2 11 too low 11 
PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too low 12 
Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels 90K+ · 4.6★ (838) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #16 ↓3 4 too low 13 
WooPayments: Integrated WooCommerce Payments 800K+ · 3.4★ (177) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #6 7 too high 14 
BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too low 15 
Back In Stock Notifier for WooCommerce | WooCommerce Waitlist Pro 20K+ · 4.7★ (122) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #22 7 too low 16 
Milo Subscriptions – Subscriptions for WooCommerce and Recurring Payments 200+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓3 2 too high 17 
First payment date for WooCommerce Subscriptions 400+ · 4.7★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↓2 18 
Subscriptions for WooCommerce with Stripe Recurring Payments 1K+ · 4.9★ (25) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #24 ↓2 6 too low 19 
Flexible Subscriptions 1K+ · 4.6★ (9) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↓1 9 too high 20 
Sublium Subscriptions – Subscriptions for WooCommerce – Recurring Payments, Subscription Plans & Installments 700+ · 5.0★ (11) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↓1 21 
WooCommerce Square 80K+ · 2.1★ (121) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #12 ↓2 9 too high 22 WooCommerce Tax (formerly WooCommerce Shipping & Tax) 500K+ · 2.0★ (105) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 11 too high 23 
Accept PayPal & Stripe with Subscriptions for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.8★ (9) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓3 24 
WooCommerce Payfast Gateway 30K+ · 3.0★ (7) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↓1 5 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.