wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “advanced custom fields address search”
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 “advanced custom fields address search”, 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
Dynamic Fields Engine – Custom post types, Custom fields, Meta fields, Taxonomies, Listing builder, Query builder and Relations shows at wp.org #12 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 3K+ 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.
How this rank is calculated
Each plugin's merit score multiplies these inputs together: how recently it was updated, how current its "tested up to" WordPress version is, its install base (log scale, capped at 10 million), its support thread resolution rate, and a rating score. The rating score weights the star average by review volume against a sitewide prior, then scales it by the lower bound of the share of 4 and 5 star reviews. A plugin with 3.7 stars from tens of thousands of reviews can still outscore a 4.9 with a few dozen, because the small sample carries less certainty.
A health factor between 0.4 and 1.15 then adjusts that score for what wp.org's search can't see: PHP fatals or failed activations on a test install, PHP and WordPress compatibility, memory and page-speed footprint, suspicious review patterns, closure risk, and a large install base with very few reviews. Clean, adopted plugins earn a small lift.
A keyword ranking starts from wp.org's search order for the term, weighting each position by 1 divided by its place, then applies the merit correction and health factor above. Relevance to the keyword stays in the result, so the order can differ from the all-categories list on /best, which scores plugins with no search term.
Hover a row to see the main reason for its position.
Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1,463)
wp.org #1 2 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2,052)
wp.org #2 3 
Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355)
wp.org #4 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 4 
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5,232)
wp.org #6 ↑2 wp.org ranks it 2 places below merit 5 
Advanced Custom Fields: Extended 100K+ · 4.8★ (132)
wp.org #5 ↑2 6 
Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (973)
wp.org #8 ↑1 wp.org ranks it 2 places below merit 7 
Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27)
wp.org #3 wp.org ranks it 4 places above merit 8 
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3,224)
wp.org #11 wp.org ranks it 3 places below merit 9 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5,043)
wp.org #9 ↑1 10 
Flexible Checkout Fields for WooCommerce – WooCommerce Checkout Manager 80K+ · 4.7★ (296)
wp.org #10 ↓5 11 
Custom Permalinks 100K+ · 4.1★ (116)
wp.org #7 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 4 places above merit 12 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (808)
wp.org #13 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 13 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4,133)
wp.org #16 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 3 places below merit 14 
Checkout Field Editor (Checkout Manager) for WooCommerce 400K+ · 4.9★ (1,056)
wp.org #17 ↓4 wp.org ranks it 3 places below merit 15 
All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1,720)
wp.org #18 wp.org ranks it 3 places below merit 16 
WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312)
wp.org #20 ↓3 wp.org ranks it 4 places below merit 17 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1,668)
wp.org #19 ↑3 wp.org ranks it 2 places below merit 18 
Custom Twitter Feeds – A Tweets Widget or X Feed Widget 100K+ · 4.8★ (401)
wp.org #22 ↓2 wp.org ranks it 4 places below merit 19 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2,409)
wp.org #23 wp.org ranks it 4 places below merit 20 
Advanced Classifieds & Directory Pro 2K+ · 4.7★ (96)
wp.org #21 ↓2 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 21 
Advanced Query Loop 6K+ · 4.6★ (30)
wp.org #15 ↑3 wp.org ranks it 6 places above merit 22 
Custom Order Numbers for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.2★ (25)
wp.org #14 wp.org ranks it 8 places above merit 23 
Custom Fields Account Registration For Woocommerce 800+ · 3.7★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #24 ↓3 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 24 Dynamic Fields Engine – Custom post types, Custom fields, Meta fields, Taxonomies, Listing builder, Query builder and Relations 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #12 wp.org ranks it 12 places above merit Merit ranking caps the install boost at 10M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted 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.