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

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 options”, 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

WPGraphQL for ACF shows at wp.org #4 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 14 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

Meta Field Block – Display Custom Fields for ACF, Meta Box and More places #9 on merit, 5.0★ from 57 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. 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 ↑1 2 Widget Options – Advanced Conditional Visibility for Gutenberg Blocks & Classic Widgets 100K+ · 4.9★ (1516) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 ACF Options For Polylang 20K+ · 4.4★ (17) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too high 4 ACF Frontend Admin by DynamiApps 8K+ · 4.5★ (160) wp.org #5 ↑10 1 too low 5 Advanced Custom Fields: Extended 100K+ · 4.8★ (132) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 ACF: Better Search 40K+ · 4.9★ (165) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #13 ↑3 6 too low 8 Table Field Add-on for ACF and SCF 50K+ · 4.9★ (60) wp.org #9 ↑8 1 too low 9 Meta Field Block – Display Custom Fields for ACF, Meta Box and More 10K+ · 5.0★ (57) wp.org #21 ↑3 12 too low 10 Admin Columns for ACF Fields 8K+ · 4.9★ (20) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 WP All Import – Import Add-On for ACF 50K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too high 12 ACF-VC Integrator 3K+ · 4.9★ (19) wp.org #16 ↓3 4 too low 13 Image Aspect Ratio Crop Field for Advanced Custom Fields 20K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #23 ↓2 10 too low 14 Advanced Views – Display Framework – Gutenberg/Elementor/Shortcode 3K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #24 ↓6 10 too low 15 Blocks for ACF Fields — Display Custom Fields in the Block Editor 2K+ · 4.9★ (13) wp.org #19 ↓5 4 too low 16 ACF Field For CF7 10K+ · 4.7★ (11) wp.org #17 ↓6 1 too low 17 Dynamic ACF Repeater for Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 ↓2 7 too high 18 WPGraphQL for ACF 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 14 too high 19 CSV Importer Plus for ACF 400+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too low 20 Simple Export Import for ACF Data 1K+ · 3.4★ (16) wp.org #22 ↓2 2 too low 21 Custom Option Page for ACF 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 ↓4 7 too high 22 ACF Galerie 4 2K+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #15 ↓3 7 too high 23 Tr Options Migrator for ACF (Export & Import ACF Options Data) 60+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 ↓2 12 too high 24 Advanced Custom Fields: Typography Field 3K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #18 6 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.