wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “app embed”

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 “app embed”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Document Embedder Addons for Elementor – Embed Documents in Elementor Websites shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 6K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 4358 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #1 ↑1 2

DearFlip – PDF Flipbook, 3D Flipbook, PDF embed, PDF viewer 200K+ · 4.9★ (194) wp.org #2 ↓1 3

PDF Embedder – PDF Viewer & Embed PDF Files for WordPress 300K+ · 4.7★ (529) wp.org #5 2 too low 4

AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #7 ↑2 3 too low 5

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #9 ↑5 4 too low 6

PowerBI Embed Reports 500+ · 5.0★ (23) thin reviews wp.org #4 2 too high 7

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #12 5 too low 8

Interact Quiz & Form Embed 3K+ · 4.6★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #3 6 too high 10

Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358) wp.org #22 ↓2 12 too low 11

Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #23 12 too low 12

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #16 ↓8 4 too low 13

Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #24 11 too low 14

Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #20 ↑4 6 too low 15

Online Forms — Customizable Payment, Contact, Quiz, Survey Form Builder – Jotform 20K+ · 3.2★ (29) wp.org #8 ↓1 8 too high 17

Juicer.io: Effortlessly embed, curate, and aggregate social media feeds into your website 8K+ · 4.2★ (29) wp.org #13 4 too high 18

Custom iFrame – Embed PDFs, Videos, and External Content in WordPress (Elementor & Gutenberg) 4K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓1 7 too high 19

Hyper PWA – Bringing Modern Progressive Web App Experiences 400+ · 4.7★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↑3 1 too high 20

Form to Chat App ⚡️ 2K+ · 4.7★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↑3 1 too high 21

Contact Form to Chat Apps | Click to Chat to Order – FormyChat 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↓2 4 too high 22

Document Embedder Addons for Elementor – Embed Documents in Elementor Websites 6K+ · 3.7★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↑1 12 too high 23

FormFacade – Embed Google Forms in your website 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↑2 8 too high 24

Mirror App – Social Gallery Feed 70+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↑2 10 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.