wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “block page by user group”
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 “block page by user group”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 1 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
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.
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7,522)
wp.org #1 2 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (334)
wp.org #2 ↓1 3 
Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1,872)
wp.org #3 ↓1 4 
User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832)
wp.org #4 5 
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #5 6 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1,281)
wp.org #6 ↑1 7 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1,445)
wp.org #7 ↓1 8 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2,147)
wp.org #9 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 9 
Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251)
wp.org #8 ↓5 wp.org ranks it 1 place above merit 10 
WP User Manager – Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile Builder & Member Directory 10K+ · 4.7★ (350)
wp.org #11 ↓2 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 11 
Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216)
wp.org #12 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 12 
Greenshift – animation and page builder blocks 70K+ · 4.8★ (107)
wp.org #10 wp.org ranks it 2 places above merit 13 
Groups – Memberships and Access Control 10K+ · 4.8★ (382)
wp.org #16 wp.org ranks it 3 places below merit 14 
Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259)
wp.org #14 ↑1 15 
ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 5K+ · 4.6★ (236)
wp.org #13 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 2 places above merit 16 
Block Visibility — Conditional Visibility Control for the Block Editor 40K+ · 4.9★ (108)
wp.org #15 ↓2 wp.org ranks it 1 place above merit 17 
User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission 20K+ · 4.1★ (537)
wp.org #17 18 
Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142)
wp.org #18 ↑1 19 
Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps 10K+ · 5.0★ (70)
wp.org #20 ↑3 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 20 
SimpLy Gallery 40K+ · 4.8★ (118)
wp.org #22 wp.org ranks it 2 places below merit 21 
Spectra Blocks – AI Website Builder for the Block Editor 70K+ · 4.6★ (53)
wp.org #19 ↓5 wp.org ranks it 2 places above merit 22 
ProfilePress – Paid Membership, Online Courses (LMS), Ecommerce, User Registration & Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content 100K+ · 3.1★ (938)
wp.org #23 ↓5 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 23 
BlockStrap Page Builder – Bootstrap Blocks 2K+ · 4.5★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #24 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 24 
VK Block Patterns 100K+ · 5.0★ (2) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓4 wp.org ranks it 3 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.