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

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 compliance”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Simple GDPR Cookie Compliance shows at wp.org #6 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 6K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.9★ average from 14 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 874 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) wp.org #1 2 GDPR Cookie Compliance – Cookie Banner, Cookie Consent, Cookie Notice for CCPA, EU Cookie Law 300K+ · 4.6★ (205) wp.org #2 3 Cookie Compliance for WordPress – Cookie Consent, GDPR & CCPA 800K+ · 4.8★ (3026) wp.org #3 4 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 EU Withdrawal and Legal Guarantee Compliance 1K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #14 ↑2 7 too low 8 WPConsent – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for Privacy Compliance (GDPR / CCPA / EU Compliance Cookie Notice) 200K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #8 ↑1 9 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #12 ↑6 3 too low 10 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too high 12 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708) wp.org #16 ↓3 4 too low 13 European VAT Compliance Assistant for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #7 6 too high 14 Simple GDPR Cookie Compliance 6K+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #6 ↓1 8 too high 15 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too low 16 iubenda | All-in-one Compliance for GDPR / CCPA Cookie Consent + more 200K+ · 4.7★ (397) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 WP Umbrella: Security Backup Restore & Monitoring 90K+ · 4.8★ (81) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 GDPR CCPA Compliance & Cookie Consent Banner 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too high 19 MxChat – AI Chatbot & Content Generation for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) wp.org #17 ↓2 3 too high 21 WP ADA Compliance Check Basic 2K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #15 ↓1 6 too high 22 EAS EU compliance 200+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress 1M+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 GDPR Compliance & Cookie Consent 4K+ · 2.7★ (10) wp.org #19 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.