Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “zero price”

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 “zero price”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Display Price Free shows at wp.org #5 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 100+ 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.

Buried gem

Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce places #8 on merit, 4.7★ from 1072 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WPC Name Your Price for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.4★ (19) wp.org #1 2 Wholesale Suite – B2B, Dynamic Pricing & WooCommerce Wholesale Prices 20K+ · 4.8★ (546) wp.org #6 ↓1 4 too low 3 Stylish Price List – Price Table Builder & QR Code Restaurant Menu 3K+ · 4.7★ (117) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Call for Price for WooCommerce 8K+ · 3.9★ (27) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 WC Price History 5K+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels 90K+ · 4.6★ (838) wp.org #11 ↓2 5 too low 7 Germanized for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (496) wp.org #13 ↓2 6 too low 8 Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.7★ (1072) wp.org #17 ↓3 9 too low 9 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too low 10 Omnibus — show the lowest price 10K+ · 4.1★ (51) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too high 11 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2052) wp.org #18 ↑4 7 too low 12 Min Max Quantities – Set Minimum/Maximum Quantity & Price Limits with Step Control for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (60) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too low 13 OG — Better Share on Social Media 20K+ · 4.8★ (216) wp.org #24 11 too low 14 WPC Grouped Product for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 Whols – Wholesale Prices and B2B Store Solution for WooCommerce 3K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 Advanced Dynamic Pricing and Discount Rules for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.7★ (123) wp.org #22 ↓2 6 too low 17 Weight Based Shipping for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.6★ (83) wp.org #23 ↓2 6 too low 18 Price by Quantity & Bulk Quantity Discounts for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #15 ↑1 3 too high 19 Set Price Note (Units, Offers, Editions) for WooCommerce 600+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #7 ↓1 12 too high 20 Snow Monkey Blocks 30K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #21 ↑2 1 too low 21 Price Per Unit for WooCommerce 1K+ · 3.7★ (12) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too high 22 ELEX WooCommerce Name Your Price 500+ · 4.3★ (8) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too high 23 Display Price Free 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 18 too high 24 Gold Price Live – Gold & Silver Prices, Charts, Widgets, Melt Value Calculator 200+ · 2.5★ (8) wp.org #9 ↓1 15 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.