wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “contests”
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 “contests”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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
WP Voting Contest Lite shows at wp.org #4 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.1★ average from 15 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 4699 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.
Giveaways and Contests by RafflePress – Get More Website Traffic, Email Subscribers, and Social Followers 20K+ · 3.9★ (43)
wp.org #1 2 
Contests by Rewards Fuel 40+ · 4.4★ (65)
wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 
ePoll – Contest Poll Survey & Voting 1K+ · 3.9★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too high 4 
Contest Gallery – Upload & Vote Photos, Media, Sell with PayPal & Stripe 1K+ · 4.4★ (89)
wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 
Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358)
wp.org #14 ↓3 9 too low 6 
Gratisfaction- Loyalty, Rewards , Referral, Birthday and Giveaway Program 600+ · 4.8★ (205) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7 Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode 600K+ · 4.9★ (4699)
wp.org #19 ↑2 12 too low 8 
Happyforms – Form Builder for WordPress: Drag & Drop Contact Forms, Surveys, Payments & Multipurpose Forms 20K+ · 4.4★ (433)
wp.org #17 ↓1 9 too low 9 
Social Boost: Giveaways, Instant win and Contests. Grow followers, shares, subscribers, traffic, referrals, sales and more 100+ · 5.0★ (25)
wp.org #9 ↑1 10 
Run Contests, Raffles, and Giveaways with ContestsWP 100+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #5 ↑1 5 too high 11 
AJAX Login and Registration modal popup + inline form 3K+ · 4.7★ (120)
wp.org #18 7 too low 12 
SweepWidget – Giveaway, Contest, Sweepstakes, Competition & Photo Contest Plugin 100+ · 4.3★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #7 5 too high 13 
Gratisfaction- Contests Giveaways Referral Loyalty Rewards and Birthdays Program 20+ · 5.0★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↑4 2 too high 14 
Iptanus File Upload 10K+ · 4.4★ (117)
wp.org #22 8 too low 15 
TotalPoll for Polls and Contests 1K+ · 4.3★ (45) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #10 ↓2 5 too high 16 
Missed Scheduled Posts Publisher by WPBeginner 20K+ · 4.9★ (60)
wp.org #24 ↓5 8 too low 17 
File Upload Types by WPForms 40K+ · 4.0★ (20) thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↑2 5 too high 18 WP Voting Contest Lite 400+ · 3.1★ (15) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviewslow rating, top placement
wp.org #4 14 too high 19 
Woorise – Forms, Quizzes & Giveaways 1K+ · 5.0★ (31) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↑9 4 too high 20 
Kali Forms — Contact Form & Drag-and-Drop Builder 10K+ · 4.8★ (89) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 ↓2 21 
Scratch & Win – Giveaways and Contests. Boost subscribers, traffic, repeat visits, referrals, sales and more 100+ · 4.7★ (30)
wp.org #23 ↓6 2 too low 22 
WinRocket Raffle and Giveaway Campaigns for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too high 23 
Photo Contest | Competition | Video Contest 200+ · 4.5★ (19) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓3 7 too high 24 
QR Redirector 4K+ · 4.3★ (11) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↓1 11 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.