wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “collect”
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 “collect”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 4 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
CDI – Collect and Deliver Interface for Woocommerce shows at wp.org #5 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder places #11 on merit, 4.4★ from 1397 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.
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
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 
MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) heavy footprint
wp.org #3 4 
Real Testimonials – Testimonial Slider, Collect Customer Reviews and Video Testimonials 40K+ · 4.7★ (226)
wp.org #6 ↓2 2 too low 5 
胖鼠采集(Fat Rat Collect) 800+ · 4.7★ (46)
wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too high 6 
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #8 2 too low 7 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #9 ↑4 2 too low 8 
kk Star Ratings – Rate Post & Collect User Feedbacks 70K+ · 3.9★ (171)
wp.org #7 1 too high 9 
Strong Testimonials 80K+ · 4.8★ (614)
wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too low 10 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #15 ↓3 5 too low 11 Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397)
wp.org #21 10 too low 12 
Icegram Collect – Easy Contact Form, Subscription Form & Lead Collection Plugin for WordPress 2K+ · 4.7★ (30)
wp.org #12 ↓1 13 
Advanced Local Pickup for WooCommerce – Click & Collect, In-Store Pickup 3K+ · 4.7★ (55) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too high 14 
Stars Testimonials — Responsive Reviews & Star Ratings 1K+ · 4.8★ (65)
wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too low 15 
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #22 7 too low 16 
Customer Reviews Collector for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.7★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too high 17 
Rate My Post – Star Rating Plugin by FeedbackWP 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #23 6 too low 18 
Event Tickets and Registration 90K+ · 3.5★ (236) heavy footprint
wp.org #24 6 too low 19 
Chatbot for WordPress by Collect.chat ⚡️ 6K+ · 4.4★ (38) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too low 20 CDI – Collect and Deliver Interface for Woocommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #5 ↑1 15 too high 21 
Bit CRM: Sales CRM Manage Lead, Contact, Deal, Invoice, Client Portal & Collect Payment 300+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↑1 2 too high 22 
Collect Reviews 40+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↓1 12 too high 23 
Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress 1M+ · 5.0★ (8) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too high 24 
WooCommerce Tax (formerly WooCommerce Shipping & Tax) 500K+ · 2.0★ (105) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #14 ↑4 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.