wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “checkboxes”
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 “checkboxes”, we and wp.org disagree 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 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
AgreeMe Checkboxes For WooCommerce shows at wp.org #4 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
WP Store Locator places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 312 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 
Germanized for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (496)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701)
wp.org #6 ↑5 3 too low 4 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #8 ↓2 4 too low 5 
Invisible Anti-Spam & CAPTCHA — reCAPTCHA Alternative for All Forms 4K+ · 4.8★ (50)
wp.org #5 ↑2 6 
Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (107)
wp.org #7 ↓2 1 too low 7 
Search & Filter 40K+ · 4.5★ (175)
wp.org #10 ↑2 3 too low 8 
Taxonomy Tags to Checkboxes 700+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #1 7 too high 9 
Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154)
wp.org #12 ↓3 3 too low 10 
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) not PHP-current
wp.org #11 ↓3 1 too low 11 
Advanced Product Fields (Product Addons) for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.8★ (284)
wp.org #17 6 too low 12 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312)
wp.org #19 ↓2 7 too low 13 
UserFeedback – Create Interactive Feedback Form, User Surveys, and Polls in Seconds 200K+ · 4.8★ (309)
wp.org #18 5 too low 14 C Conditional Menus 60K+ · 4.4★ (71)
wp.org #13 1 too high 15 
WP Recipe Maker 50K+ · 5.0★ (356) heavy footprint
wp.org #22 ↓4 7 too low 16 
Contact Form by Supsystic – Drag & Drop Form Builder with Templates & Form Statistics 6K+ · 4.7★ (92)
wp.org #24 8 too low 17 
Snow Monkey Forms 30K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #9 ↑1 8 too high 18 AgreeMe Checkboxes For WooCommerce 500+ · 4.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #4 14 too high 19 
Comment Reply Email Notification 3K+ · 4.8★ (33)
wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too low 20 
Event Genius – Event Calendar, Event Registration, and Attendee Management 600+ · 4.8★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↑8 4 too high 21 N NS Featured Posts 4K+ · 4.8★ (29)
wp.org #23 ↓2 2 too low 22 
Select All Categories and Taxonomies, Change Checkbox to Radio Buttons 3K+ · 4.3★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #15 7 too high 23 
FZ-152 RF 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓7 2 too high 24 
Registration Agreement Checkboxes and/or RODO Agreements 60+ · 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.