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

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 supported”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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 #2 but places #16 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

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #3 on merit, 4.8★ from 27820 reviews, but shows at wp.org #9. 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: Better Search 40K+ · 4.9★ (165) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820) wp.org #9 6 too low 4 Advanced Custom Fields: Extended 100K+ · 4.8★ (132) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 ACF Content Analysis for Yoast SEO 100K+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3004) wp.org #11 ↓1 5 too low 7 ACF-VC Integrator 3K+ · 4.9★ (19) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Meta Field Block – Display Custom Fields for ACF, Meta Box and More 10K+ · 5.0★ (57) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too low 9 Blocks for ACF Fields — Display Custom Fields in the Block Editor 2K+ · 4.9★ (13) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 Advanced Views – Display Framework – Gutenberg/Elementor/Shortcode 2K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #13 ↓2 3 too low 11 Advanced Forms for ACF 3K+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too low 12 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #12 ↑1 13 WP Webhooks – Automate repetitive tasks by creating powerful automation workflows directly within WordPress 20K+ · 4.7★ (55) wp.org #21 ↓1 8 too low 14 Image Aspect Ratio Crop Field for Advanced Custom Fields 20K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too low 15 Dynamic ACF Repeater for Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #7 8 too high 16 WPGraphQL for ACF 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 14 too high 17 ACF Photo Gallery Field 60K+ · 4.0★ (29) wp.org #20 ↓2 3 too low 18 Simple Export Import for ACF Data 1K+ · 3.4★ (16) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too high 19 Loop Grid Extender for Elementor – ACF Repeater & Smart Filters 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #23 ↓1 4 too low 20 Advanced Custom Fields: Typography Field 3K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too high 21 Repeaterly – ACF Repeater, Flexible Content & Dynamic Tags for Elementor 600+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 ACF Dropzone 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↓2 8 too high 23 Frontend Editor ACF 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 Advanced Gallery & Repeater Fields for ACF 700+ · 0.0★ (0) 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.