wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “client quotes”

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 “client quotes”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Quotes Addon for GetPaid shows at wp.org #7 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 3221 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.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Jetpack CRM – Clients, Leads, Invoices, Billing, Email Marketing, & Automation 30K+ · 4.3★ (152) wp.org #1 2

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #2 ↑1 3

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #6 3 too low 4

WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (199) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

CatalogX Product Catalog, Product Enquiry & Quotes for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.2★ (60) wp.org #4 1 too high 6

Logo Slider – Logo Showcase, Logo Carousel, Logo Gallery and Client Logo Presentation 30K+ · 4.7★ (252) wp.org #8 2 too low 7

Logo Carousel – Responsive Logo Slider, Logo Showcase, and Clients Logo Gallery 20K+ · 4.7★ (162) wp.org #9 2 too low 8

Shop as Client for WooCommerce – Manual, Phone & Email Orders 500+ · 5.0★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #3 ↓1 5 too high 9

YayMail – WooCommerce Email Customizer 50K+ · 4.8★ (291) wp.org #11 ↓4 2 too low 10

OAuth Single Sign On – SSO (OAuth Client) 6K+ · 4.9★ (327) wp.org #12 2 too low 11

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #19 ↓1 8 too low 12

Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #15 3 too low 13

Sprout Invoices – Client Invoicing & Estimates 1K+ · 4.4★ (191) wp.org #13 ↑1 14

Stylish Cost Calculator – Quote Generator, Lead Gen & Price Estimator 1K+ · 4.8★ (175) wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too low 15

SureForms – Contact Form Builder, AI Forms, Payment Form, Survey & Quiz 500K+ · 4.8★ (102) wp.org #17 ↓4 2 too low 16

Sliced Invoices – WordPress Invoice Plugin 4K+ · 4.6★ (117) wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too low 17

Atarim – AI Agency for WordPress: Edit Pages, Fix Code, Update Plugins, SEO & Client Feedback 1K+ · 4.9★ (126) wp.org #22 5 too low 18

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #21 3 too low 19

Easy Invoice – Invoice Generator, PDF Quotes & Payments 600+ · 4.4★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↑1 9 too high 20

Quotes Addon for GetPaid 600+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #7 ↑3 13 too high 21

LTL Freight Quotes – Worldwide Express Edition 90+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #20 1 too high 22

WPZOOM Addons for Elementor – Starter Templates & Widgets 20K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #23 1 too low 23

Small Package Quotes – Worldwide Express Edition 90+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↑2 9 too high 24

WP Forms + Sprout Invoices – Easy Invoice & Quote Submissions 300+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #24

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.