wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “you save”

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 “you save”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

Custom Thank You Page for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #6 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 27821 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

CartBounty – Save and recover abandoned carts for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (84) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too low 2

WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #4 2 too low 3

NextMove Lite – Thank You Page for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (150) wp.org #7 4 too low 4

You Save for Woocommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #1 3 too high 5

Thanko Thank You Page Customizer for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.5★ (37) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #3 ↓1 2 too high 6

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #13 7 too low 7

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #15 ↑1 8 too low 8

WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915) wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too low 9

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #23 14 too low 10

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #22 12 too low 11

Thank You Page for WooCommerce 10K+ · 5.0★ (43) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #8 3 too high 12

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #16 ↓4 4 too low 13

Form Vibes – Save Contact Form 7 & Elementor Form Entries to Database 10K+ · 4.9★ (132) wp.org #21 8 too low 14

Save as PDF Plugin by PDFCrowd 1K+ · 4.1★ (27) wp.org #9 5 too high 15

GSheetConnector – CF7 Google Sheets Connector & Save CF7 Entries to Database 40K+ · 4.4★ (129) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #12 ↑2 3 too high 16

Save & Go 200+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #5 11 too high 17

Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #20 3 too low 18

PW WooCommerce Bulk Edit 20K+ · 4.9★ (238) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #18 19

Custom Thank You Page for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (7) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #6 13 too high 20

Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #24 4 too low 21

FormsDB – Save Elementor Forms to Google Sheets & Post Type 20K+ · 4.6★ (19) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #19 2 too high 22

HD Quiz – Save Results Light 1K+ · 4.0★ (4) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #10 12 too high 23

WPC Save For Later for WooCommerce 300+ · 4.0★ (5) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #11 12 too high 24

ThankRedirect – Custom Thank You Pages for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #17 7 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.