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

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 “zen”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 2 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

Zen Addons for SiteOrigin Page Builder shows at wp.org #2 but places #9 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 SSL Zen — SSL Certificate Installer & HTTPS Redirects 9K+ · 4.9★ (665) wp.org #1 2 Zen Feed 400+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 RSS for Yandex Zen 4K+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too low 4 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #9 5 too low 5 B belingoGeo 1K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Widget for Zen 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 Next-Cart Store to WooCommerce Migration 100+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #12 ↓2 5 too low 8 LazyTasks – Project & Task Management with Collaboration, Kanban and Gantt Chart 90+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #16 8 too low 9 Zen Addons for SiteOrigin Page Builder 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 7 too high 10 Squad Modules Lite – Free Divi 5 & Divi 4 Modules for Divi Builder 1K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #19 ↑1 9 too low 11 Antimanual – Compact AI Agent for Content, Chat & SEO Automation 100+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #10 ↑3 1 too high 12 Zen Site Security 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 ↑1 7 too high 13 Coupon Zen 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 6 too high 14 AI Provider for OpenCode Zen – Multi-Model LLM Connector 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too high 15 Zen GEO – Generative Engine Optimization 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓2 2 too high 16 Zen MCP Bridge 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 Spiraclethemes Site Library 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓2 18 ZEN.COM Payments for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 19 Antimanual Builder – Truly AI Powered Visual Page Builder 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 Zen Blogger — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓3 21 Zen Backup — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓2 2 too low 22 Zen Smart Folders — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2 2 too low 23 Quiet Admin – Hide Admin Notices, Disable Comments, Clean Dashboard & More 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↓3 1 too high 24 Prozen Integration for Dzen 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓3 3 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.