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

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 collapse”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

ACF Admin Flexible Content Collapse shows at wp.org #8 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 491 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 Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #1 2 Advanced Custom Fields: Extended 100K+ · 4.8★ (132) wp.org #2 3 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154) wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too low 5 Advanced AJAX Product Filters 50K+ · 4.7★ (387) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too low 6 CF7 Apps – Addons for Contact Form 7 (Honeypot, Database, Redirection, Webhook, etc.) 300K+ · 3.8★ (135) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Stackable – Page Builder Gutenberg Blocks 100K+ · 4.9★ (522) wp.org #14 7 too low 8 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (199) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #17 ↑1 8 too low 10 Secure Custom Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (69) wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too low 11 Easy Table of Contents 600K+ · 4.4★ (221) wp.org #12 ↓2 1 too low 12 Dynamic ACF Repeater for Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #3 9 too high 13 Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333) wp.org #21 8 too low 14 Accordions – Responsive Accordion & FAQ Plugin for WordPress 1K+ · 4.6★ (10) wp.org #6 8 too high 15 annasta Filters for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (44) wp.org #15 16 WPGet API – Connect to any external REST API 10K+ · 5.0★ (32) wp.org #23 ↓1 7 too low 17 Enable Abilities for MCP 5K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #19 ↓2 2 too low 18 Import WP – CSV & XML Import Export for WordPress 4K+ · 4.4★ (25) wp.org #18 ↑1 19 ACF Repeater & Flexible Content Collapser 3K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 ↓1 9 too high 20 ACF Admin Flexible Content Collapse 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↓1 12 too high 21 TableKit – WordPress Table Builder for Data Tables, WooCommerce Product Tables & Post Tables 3K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #16 5 too high 22 Code and Core Remove Empty P Tags 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Repeatix Repeater Field for ACF 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 Auto Collapse for Flexible Fields 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.