Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “wordcount”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 7 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

Simple metadata shows at wp.org #15 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Gutenberg Block Editor Toolkit – EditorsKit places #1 on merit, 4.6★ from 176 reviews, but shows at wp.org #5. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Gutenberg Block Editor Toolkit – EditorsKit 20K+ · 4.6★ (176) wp.org #5 ↓1 4 too low 2 Cost Calculator for Contact Form 7 – Price Calculator Free 5K+ · 3.8★ (15) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Post Word Counter – Content Insights Dashboard 200+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 SEO Fury – SEO & GEO: Schema, XML Sitemap, Redirects, 404 Monitor, llms.txt 10+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 Aims Textarea Wordcount with/without Space For Contact Form 7 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 4 too high 6 Just Writing Statistics 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too low 7 Dashboard Wordcount 500+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #14 ↑1 7 too low 8 Schema Blocks 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too low 9 Bphonetic WordCount — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Vcgs Toolbox 100+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #24 14 too low 11 W Word Stats 100+ · 4.4★ (10) wp.org #21 ↑1 10 too low 12 Newsroom OS – Google Discover, Google News, Schema & Editorial Workflow 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too high 13 Citeroom: AEO and GEO for News, Works with Any SEO Plugin — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↑1 5 too high 14 Nexal SEO — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↑2 3 too high 15 C Contact Form 7 Textarea Wordcount 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↑1 1 too low 16 M Manny Wenas SEO — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 Wille GEO – AI Crawler Stats, llms.txt & AI Visibility — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too high 18 P ProgPress 10+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too low 19 A Author Wordcount 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↑1 2 too high 20 8Degree Posts List Plugin 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↑1 1 too high 21 Simple metadata 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↑1 6 too high 22 Word Count Wizard 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too high 23 W Wordcount Pro 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too high 24 S Statistical 10+ · 2.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↑1 1 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.