wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “content 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 “content builder”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 5 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 #19 on merit, a gap of 10 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
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin places #10 on merit, 4.4★ from 1445 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. 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★ (7322) 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 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #3 4 
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #4 5 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #5 6 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #6 7 
WP Table Builder – Drag & Drop Table Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (681)
wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8 
Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #7 ↑12 1 too high 9 
Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397)
wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too low 11 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #13 ↓5 2 too low 12 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #10 ↑4 2 too high 13 
Page Builder by SiteOrigin 400K+ · 4.8★ (1005)
wp.org #16 ↑6 3 too low 14 
FunnelKit – Funnel Builder Plugin for WooCommerce Checkout 30K+ · 5.0★ (1028)
wp.org #20 ↑1 6 too low 15 
Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode 600K+ · 4.9★ (4699)
wp.org #21 6 too low 16 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519)
wp.org #24 8 too low 17 
Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #17 ↓8 18 
Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #11 ↑1 7 too high 19 Xpro Theme Builder For Elementor – FREE 20K+ · 5.0★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #9 ↑1 10 too high 20 
Content Visibility for Divi Builder 2K+ · 4.8★ (101)
wp.org #18 2 too high 21 
Depicter — Popup & Slider Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (236) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↑5 6 too high 22 
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #19 ↓2 3 too high 23 
Passster – Password Protect Pages and Content 10K+ · 4.2★ (60) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #23 ↓8 24 
Popup builder with Gamification, Multi-Step Popups, Page-Level Targeting, and WooCommerce Triggers 70K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #22 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.