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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “connectors”

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 “connectors”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 3 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

AI Agent by SiteGround shows at wp.org #15 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 1M+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.7★ average from 98 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 186 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 wp.org
1 GSheetConnector – CF7 Google Sheets Connector & Save CF7 Entries to Database 40K+ · 4.4★ (129) wp.org #1 2 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #5 ↑2 3 too low 3 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #7 ↑7 3 too low 5 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (199) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #3 ↑2 4 too high 8 Connector for Gravity Forms and Google Sheets 3K+ · 4.7★ (66) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Enable Abilities for MCP 5K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 AI 60K+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #4 6 too high 11 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #19 8 too low 12 GSheetConnector – WPForms Google Sheets Connector, Save WPForms Lite & PRO Entries to Database & Sheets 7K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 GSheetConnector – WooCommerce Google Sheets Connector, Export Orders & Products to Google Sheets in Real-Time 3K+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too low 14 Make Connector 70K+ · 2.7★ (25) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 GSheetConnector – Elementor Forms Google Sheet Connector to Sync Submissions to Google Sheets 9K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 Legal Text Connector of the IT-Recht Kanzlei 10K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 ShipWorks Connector for Woocommerce 200+ · 4.8★ (10) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 GSheetConnector – Gravity Forms Google Sheets Connector – Real-Time Sync 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 Extendify 500K+ · 4.7★ (10) wp.org #17 ↑1 2 too high 20 MembershipWorks Login Connector 800+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too high 21 GSheetConnector – Ninja Forms Google Sheets Connector, Export Form Submissions Instant Sync to Sheets 1K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 AI Agent by SiteGround 1M+ · 1.7★ (98) wp.org #15 ↑2 7 too high 23 YLabs AI Assistant Connector 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too high 24 HostAway Connector 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 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.