wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “aweber wordpress”
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 wordpress”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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 #7 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 17 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 #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 4514 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859)
wp.org #1 2 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #2 3 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #3 4 
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220)
wp.org #6 2 too low 5 
WP Popups – WordPress Popup builder 30K+ · 4.9★ (112)
wp.org #9 4 too low 6 
MailOptin – Popup, Optin Forms & Email Newsletters for Mailchimp, HubSpot, AWeber Etc. 10K+ · 4.8★ (438) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 2 too low 7 
Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397)
wp.org #15 8 too low 8 Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514)
wp.org #21 ↓3 13 too low 9 
MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #10 1 too low 10 
UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP 20K+ · 4.7★ (183)
wp.org #17 7 too low 11 
CrawlWP SEO – Complete WordPress SEO Plugin with AI, Indexing & Search Performance 30K+ · 4.7★ (62) not PHP-current
wp.org #11 12 
Optin Forms – Simple List Building Plugin for WordPress 2K+ · 4.6★ (72)
wp.org #14 2 too low 13 
Quiz Cat – WordPress Quiz Plugin 4K+ · 4.7★ (35)
wp.org #12 1 too high 14 
Popup Builder & Popup Maker for WordPress – OptinMonster Email Marketing and Lead Generation 1M+ · 4.3★ (821) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #13 1 too high 15 
AWeber Forms by Optin Cat 300+ · 3.7★ (18) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #5 10 too high 16 
MailMunch – Grow your Email List 5K+ · 4.7★ (241) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 ↑2 2 too low 17 
weForms – Easy Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder For WordPress 10K+ · 4.5★ (111) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #16 1 too high 18 
Contact Form & SMTP Plugin for WordPress by PirateForms 30K+ · 4.7★ (223) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #22 4 too low 19 
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 #4 15 too high 20 
FuseWP – WordPress User Sync to Email List & Marketing Automation (Mailchimp, Constant Contact, ActiveCampaign etc.) 2K+ · 4.9★ (25)
wp.org #19 1 too high 21 
Genesis eNews Extended 40K+ · 4.7★ (28)
wp.org #23 2 too low 22 
WebinarPress – Webinar System for WordPress 800+ · 4.1★ (40)
wp.org #24 2 too low 23 
Chatbot for WordPress by Collect.chat ⚡️ 6K+ · 4.4★ (38) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too high 24 Connect Contact Form 7 and AWeber 300+ · 2.5★ (8) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #7 17 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.