wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “aweber”
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 “aweber”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 6 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.
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 it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Connect Contact Form 7 and AWeber shows at wp.org #6 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.5★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 4514 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220)
wp.org #3 2 too low 2 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #4 2 too low 3 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #5 2 too low 4 
Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859)
wp.org #9 ↑2 5 too low 5 
MailOptin – Popup, Optin Forms & Email Newsletters for Mailchimp, HubSpot, AWeber Etc. 10K+ · 4.8★ (438) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 
AWeber – Free Sign Up Form and Landing Page Builder Plugin for Lead Generation and Email Newsletter Growth 8K+ · 2.6★ (25) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement
wp.org #1 5 too high 7 Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514)
wp.org #14 7 too low 8 
AWeber Forms by Optin Cat 300+ · 3.7★ (18) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #2 6 too high 9 
UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP 20K+ · 4.7★ (183)
wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too low 10 
Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397)
wp.org #13 3 too low 11 
MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 ↑4 3 too high 12 
Instapage Plugin 4K+ · 4.8★ (218)
wp.org #15 ↑6 3 too low 13 
Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode 600K+ · 4.9★ (4699)
wp.org #23 10 too low 14 
MailMunch – Grow your Email List 5K+ · 4.7★ (241) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #10 ↓2 4 too high 15 
Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #16 ↑6 1 too low 16 
WP Popups – WordPress Popup builder 30K+ · 4.9★ (112)
wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too low 17 
Genesis eNews Extended 40K+ · 4.7★ (28)
wp.org #12 ↓3 5 too high 18 
Brave – Create Popup, Optins, Lead Generation, Survey, Sticky Elements & Interactive Content 20K+ · 4.8★ (209)
wp.org #24 6 too low 19 
Optin Forms – Simple List Building Plugin for WordPress 2K+ · 4.6★ (72)
wp.org #18 ↓3 1 too high 20 
Noptin – Newsletter, New Post Notifications & Email Automation 10K+ · 4.5★ (120) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 ↓2 21 
Landingi Landing Pages 2K+ · 5.0★ (20) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↓2 2 too high 22 
FuseWP – WordPress User Sync to Email List & Marketing Automation (Mailchimp, Constant Contact, ActiveCampaign etc.) 2K+ · 4.9★ (25)
wp.org #22 ↓3 23 
Email Marketing Plugin – WP Email Capture 1K+ · 4.3★ (19) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 Connect Contact Form 7 and AWeber 300+ · 2.5★ (8) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #6 ↑1 18 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.