wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “capture”
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 “capture”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 of the top 20. 5 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
CM Pop-Up – Create engaging popups to capture attention and boost interaction shows at wp.org #9 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 8K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.4★ average from 13 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 3220 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #5 ↓1 4 too low 2 
Email Marketing Plugin – WP Email Capture 1K+ · 4.3★ (19) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #1 1 too high 3 
Cart Abandonment Recovery for WooCommerce – Recover Lost Sales with Automated Emails 300K+ · 4.8★ (625) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #3 ↑3 4 
Quiz and Survey Master (QSM) – Quiz Maker & Survey Maker 40K+ · 4.7★ (1282)
wp.org #7 ↑8 3 too low 5 
FluentPlayer – Video Player With Forms & Lead Capture 2K+ · 4.7★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #2 3 too high 6 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #6 ↑4 7 
Database Addon for Contact Form 7 – CFDB7 600K+ · 5.0★ (1875)
wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too low 8 
UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP 20K+ · 4.7★ (183)
wp.org #8 9 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220)
wp.org #17 ↑3 8 too low 10 
Showcase IDX Real Estate Search & Lead Capture 2K+ · 3.8★ (35) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #4 ↓1 6 too high 11 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #18 7 too low 12 
WP Meteor Website Speed Optimization Addon 20K+ · 4.7★ (77)
wp.org #19 ↑3 7 too low 13 
Search Regex 100K+ · 4.7★ (101)
wp.org #21 8 too low 14 
Wholesale Suite – B2B, Dynamic Pricing & WooCommerce Wholesale Prices 20K+ · 4.8★ (546) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 ↑3 6 too low 15 
Beacon Lead Magnets and Lead Capture 500+ · 4.4★ (28)
wp.org #12 ↓3 3 too high 16 
MxChat – AI Chatbot & Content Generation for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (31) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #13 3 too high 17 
Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74)
wp.org #22 5 too low 18 
Redirection for Contact Form 7 200K+ · 4.7★ (275) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #24 6 too low 19 
Popup and Widget Builder: Lead Capture, Exit Intent, Forms, Quizzes, Gamification 200+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #14 5 too high 20 
Pay with Vipps and MobilePay for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.8★ (13) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↑4 5 too high 21 
Newsletter Subscription Form – User Subscriptions Form, Capture Email 1K+ · 4.3★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↑1 10 too high 22 CM Pop-Up – Create engaging popups to capture attention and boost interaction 8K+ · 3.4★ (13) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #9 ↓2 13 too high 23 
Meta pixel for WordPress 400K+ · 2.7★ (164)
wp.org #23 24 
Incomplete Order Lead Capture 30+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↑5 8 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.