wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “community builder”
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 “community builder”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 6 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
Xpro Theme Builder For Elementor – FREE shows at wp.org #9 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 14 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 7519 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #1 2 
Beaver Builder Page Builder – Drag and Drop Website Builder 100K+ · 4.7★ (394)
wp.org #2 3 
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 
WP Table Builder – Drag & Drop Table Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (681)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 
Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #6 ↑4 7 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #8 ↓2 1 too low 8 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #7 ↑6 1 too high 9 
Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514)
wp.org #13 ↑3 4 too low 10 
Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397)
wp.org #12 ↑2 2 too low 11 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519)
wp.org #20 9 too low 12 
Cost Calculator Builder 20K+ · 4.5★ (393)
wp.org #17 ↑7 5 too low 13 
Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder (UABB) 20K+ · 5.0★ (332)
wp.org #21 8 too low 14 
Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #10 ↓3 4 too high 15 
FluentCommunity – Ultra-Fast High-Performance Social Network, Community, LMS & Online Courses 8K+ · 4.8★ (96) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 ↓2 4 too high 16 
Colibri Page Builder 80K+ · 4.4★ (80)
wp.org #14 ↓3 2 too high 17 Xpro Theme Builder For Elementor – FREE 20K+ · 5.0★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #9 ↓1 8 too high 18 
CartFlows – Funnel Builder & Checkout Plugin for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.8★ (517) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↑4 3 too high 19 
Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer 400K+ · 4.5★ (81)
wp.org #16 ↓1 3 too high 20 
BuddyPress 90K+ · 4.1★ (375)
wp.org #24 ↓1 4 too low 21 
Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current
wp.org #18 ↓6 3 too high 22 
BuddyPress Builder for Elementor – BuddyBuilder 1K+ · 4.6★ (57)
wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 
Popup builder with Gamification, Multi-Step Popups, Page-Level Targeting, and WooCommerce Triggers 70K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too high 24 
Header Footer Builder for Elementor 30K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓5 2 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.