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

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 db”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 4 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

ACF On-The-Go shows at wp.org #8 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP All Import – Drag & Drop Import for CSV, XML, Excel & Google Sheets places #6 on merit, 4.7★ from 1966 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 ACF Frontend Admin by DynamiApps 8K+ · 4.5★ (160) wp.org #1 2 Table Field Add-on for ACF and SCF 50K+ · 4.9★ (60) wp.org #2 3 Advanced Custom Fields: Extended 100K+ · 4.8★ (132) wp.org #3 4 Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3003) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (779) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too low 6 WP All Import – Drag & Drop Import for CSV, XML, Excel & Google Sheets 100K+ · 4.7★ (1966) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too low 8 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too low 9 Blocksy Companion 300K+ · 4.7★ (93) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 FormsDB – Save Elementor Forms to Google Sheets & Post Type 20K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #4 6 too high 11 Better Find and Replace – AI-Powered Suggestions 40K+ · 4.6★ (171) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 CF7 Apps – Addons for Contact Form 7 (Honeypot, Database, Redirection, Webhook, etc.) 300K+ · 3.8★ (135) wp.org #6 ↓1 6 too high 13 Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #7 6 too high 14 Social Media Auto Poster – Schedule & Publish to Buffer 7K+ · 4.5★ (125) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 E2Pdf – Export Pdf Tool for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (59) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 WPGSI: Spreadsheet Integration 1K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #18 2 too low 17 ACF On-The-Go 10+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #8 ↑1 9 too high 18 Broken Link Checker by AIOSEO – Find & Fix Broken Internal, External & Video Links 200K+ · 3.8★ (87) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 Data Source for Contact Form 7 300+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #19 20 Cowboy MCP – Free MCP Server with Undo for Claude & ChatGPT 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 Media Tracker – Track Unused, Duplicate & Used Media 1K+ · 4.2★ (9) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Export All Posts, Products, Orders & Users | WP Ultimate Exporter | WordPress CSV Export 6K+ · 3.2★ (16) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too high 23 Discount Rules for WooCommerce – Disco | Dynamic Pricing, Conditions, Bulk, Bundle, BOGO 5K+ · 4.2★ (9) wp.org #23 24 Markdown for Agents and Statistics 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 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.