Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “zones”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 3 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 Shipping Zones for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #4 but places #22 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

Booking for Appointments and Events Calendar – Amelia places #10 on merit, 4.6★ from 793 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #1 2 Cities Shipping Zones for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.7★ (19) wp.org #2 3 Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.7★ (1071) wp.org #7 ↓1 4 too low 4 Price Based on Country for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.8★ (262) wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too low 5 Table Rate Shipping for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (74) wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too low 6 Shipping Zones by Drawing for WooCommerce 500+ · 4.1★ (24) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 Weight Based Shipping for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.6★ (83) wp.org #10 ↓2 3 too low 8 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #18 ↑6 10 too low 9 MX Time Zone Clocks 1K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too high 10 Booking for Appointments and Events Calendar – Amelia 90K+ · 4.6★ (793) wp.org #22 ↑1 12 too low 11 CompressX — AVIF & WebP Converter, Media Replacement 40K+ · 5.0★ (197) wp.org #20 ↓3 9 too low 12 WP Date and Time Shortcode 10K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #12 13 WC Hide Shipping Methods 20K+ · 4.2★ (44) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 Advanced Free Shipping for WooCommerce 40K+ · 4.8★ (122) wp.org #19 5 too low 15 Delivery & Pickup Date Time for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (282) wp.org #15 ↑4 16 Product page shipping calculator for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.9★ (77) wp.org #17 ↑3 1 too low 17 Conditional Shipping for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.6★ (22) wp.org #13 4 too high 18 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 SmartyParcel – DHL Express, GLS, InPost & Nova Post for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.6★ (56) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too low 20 Z Zone Manager (Zoninator) 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #5 ↓1 15 too high 21 Weight zone shipping for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too high 22 Custom Shipping Zones for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 ↑10 18 too high 23 H HgE: Shipping Zones for FAN Courier Romania 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 ↓3 1 too low 24 SimplyBook.me – Booking and reservations calendar 30K+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 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.