wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wordpress ajax”

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 “wordpress ajax”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Relevanssi Live Ajax Search shows at wp.org #16 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 7K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 9 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #1 ↑1 2

FiboSearch – Ajax Search for WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.9★ (1815) wp.org #2 ↓1 3

Ajax Search Lite – Live Search & Filter 70K+ · 4.8★ (266) wp.org #3 ↑4 4

BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Advanced AJAX Product Filters 50K+ · 4.7★ (387) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6

Category AJAX Filter – Posts, Custom Post Types & Product Filter 6K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #6 7

SearchWP Live Ajax Search 40K+ · 4.7★ (36) wp.org #4 ↓1 3 too high 8

Ajax Load More – Infinite Scroll, Load More, & Lazy Load 30K+ · 4.8★ (287) wp.org #9 1 too low 9

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 A AJAX Thumbnail Rebuild 30K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #8 ↓4 2 too high 11

Ajax add to cart for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (78) wp.org #10 2 too high 13

Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too high 14

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #17 ↑1 3 too low 15

GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #14 1 too high 16

WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184) wp.org #19 ↑4 3 too low 17

MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress 1M+ · 4.8★ (1497) wp.org #23 ↓2 6 too low 18

Simple Ajax Chat – Add a Fast, Secure Chat Box 2K+ · 4.9★ (215) wp.org #22 ↓2 4 too low 19

FancyBox for WordPress 30K+ · 4.6★ (92) wp.org #20 ↓3 1 too low 20

YITH WooCommerce Ajax Product Filter 70K+ · 3.5★ (98) wp.org #15 5 too high 21

Ajax Cart for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.4★ (39) wp.org #18 3 too high 22

Relevanssi Live Ajax Search 7K+ · 5.0★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #16 6 too high 23

WPC AJAX Add to Cart for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.4★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓2 2 too high 24

YITH WooCommerce Ajax Search 30K+ · 3.0★ (42) wp.org #24 ↓2

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.