wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “answer a question”
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 “answer a question”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 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
Awesome FAQ – answer questions before customers ask shows at wp.org #4 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 1K+ 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.
Contact Form 7 10M+ · 4.0★ (2186)
wp.org #1 2 
Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601)
wp.org #3 ↑5 1 too low 3 
Maintenance 1M+ · 4.4★ (869)
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons 30K+ · 5.0★ (775)
wp.org #5 ↓2 1 too low 5 
Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539)
wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 
Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033)
wp.org #7 ↑2 1 too low 7 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #8 ↑3 1 too low 8 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #10 2 too low 9 
Tidio – Live Chat & AI Chatbots 70K+ · 4.8★ (395)
wp.org #9 ↓3 10 
Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too low 11 
The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461)
wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too low 12 
HD Quiz 6K+ · 4.9★ (145)
wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too low 13 
Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215)
wp.org #21 ↑1 8 too low 14 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333)
wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too low 15 
WP Force SSL & HTTPS SSL Redirect 80K+ · 4.7★ (179)
wp.org #17 ↑1 2 too low 16 
Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167)
wp.org #24 8 too low 17 
Product Enquiry for WooCommerce (Now with AI Assistant) 10K+ · 4.1★ (68)
wp.org #15 ↑1 2 too high 18 
Redis Object Cache 500K+ · 4.5★ (179)
wp.org #19 ↑1 1 too low 19 
WPBot – AI ChatBot for Live Support, Lead Generation, WordPress Automation, AI Services 5K+ · 4.7★ (124)
wp.org #22 ↑1 3 too low 20 
WooPayments: Integrated WooCommerce Payments 800K+ · 3.4★ (177)
wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too high 21 
CM Answers – Discussion Forum Plugin for WordPress Q&A 300+ · 3.8★ (86)
wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too high 22 
AxiaChat AI – Free AI Chatbot (Answers Customers Automatically) 500+ · 5.0★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↑1 1 too low 23 Awesome FAQ – answer questions before customers ask 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #4 19 too high 24 
Jotform – AI Chatbot 5K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↑1 4 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.