Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “acf”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

WPGraphQL for ACF shows at wp.org #3 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 10K+ 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

Advanced Custom Fields: Extended places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 132 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 Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #1 2 ACF Frontend Admin by DynamiApps 8K+ · 4.5★ (160) wp.org #2 ↑15 3 ACF: Better Search 40K+ · 4.9★ (165) wp.org #5 ↓2 2 too low 4 Table Field Add-on for ACF and SCF 50K+ · 4.9★ (60) wp.org #4 ↑8 5 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #8 ↑8 3 too low 6 Advanced Custom Fields: Extended 100K+ · 4.8★ (132) wp.org #14 ↓1 8 too low 7 ACF Content Analysis for Yoast SEO 100K+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #7 ↓3 8 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 ↓7 8 too low 9 A ACF Post-2-Post 3K+ · 5.0★ (39) wp.org #13 ↓2 4 too low 10 Admin Columns for ACF Fields 8K+ · 4.9★ (20) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 ACF-VC Integrator 3K+ · 4.9★ (19) wp.org #10 ↓4 1 too high 12 WP All Import – Import Add-On for ACF 50K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #6 ↓1 6 too high 13 Meta Field Block – Display Custom Fields for ACF, Meta Box and More 10K+ · 5.0★ (57) wp.org #15 ↑4 2 too low 14 Advanced Forms for ACF 3K+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #21 7 too low 15 Blocks for ACF Fields — Display Custom Fields in the Block Editor 2K+ · 4.9★ (13) wp.org #19 ↓9 4 too low 16 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 ACF Options For Polylang 20K+ · 4.4★ (17) wp.org #17 ↓3 18 ACF Galerie 4 2K+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #11 ↓4 7 too high 19 ACF Field For CF7 10K+ · 4.7★ (11) wp.org #18 ↓3 1 too high 20 CSV Importer Plus for ACF 400+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #20 21 Dynamic ACF Repeater for Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 ↓4 9 too high 22 WPGraphQL for ACF 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 ↓1 19 too high 23 Custom Option Page for ACF 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Flexible Layout Preview Image for ACF 800+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↑1 2 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.