wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “convertkit”
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 “convertkit”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 2 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
Kit (formerly ConvertKit) for WPForms shows at wp.org #3 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 1K+ 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
Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 4514 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Kit (formerly ConvertKit) – Email Newsletter, Email Marketing, Membership, Subscribers and Landing Pages 40K+ · 4.8★ (90)
wp.org #1 2 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #4 2 too low 3 
Affiliate Program Suite — SliceWP Affiliates 10K+ · 4.9★ (111)
wp.org #5 2 too low 4 
Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode 600K+ · 4.9★ (4699)
wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too low 5 
Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397)
wp.org #7 ↑3 2 too low 6 Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514)
wp.org #11 5 too low 7 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too low 8 
Kit (formerly ConvertKit) for WooCommerce 4K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #2 6 too high 9 
Genesis eNews Extended 40K+ · 4.7★ (28)
wp.org #6 3 too high 10 
Email Marketing for WooCommerce by Omnisend 40K+ · 4.9★ (169)
wp.org #13 ↑4 3 too low 11 
Website Pop-up Builder by BDOW! (formerly Sumo): Pop-ups + forms for email opt-ins and lead generation 10K+ · 4.2★ (519)
wp.org #14 3 too low 12 
NotificationX – FOMO, Live Sales Notification, WooCommerce Sales Popup, GDPR, Social Proof, Announcement Banner & Floating Notification Bar 30K+ · 4.8★ (228)
wp.org #15 ↑3 3 too low 13 
Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859)
wp.org #17 ↑4 4 too low 14 
MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too high 15 
Contact Form by Supsystic – Drag & Drop Form Builder with Templates & Form Statistics 6K+ · 4.7★ (92)
wp.org #12 3 too high 16 
Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601)
wp.org #23 7 too low 17 
User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832)
wp.org #24 ↓8 7 too low 18 
Popup Box – Create Countdown, Coupon, Video, Contact Form Popups 50K+ · 4.6★ (82)
wp.org #16 ↓2 2 too high 19 Kit (formerly ConvertKit) for WPForms 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #3 16 too high 20 
Optin Forms – Simple List Building Plugin for WordPress 2K+ · 4.6★ (72)
wp.org #18 ↓5 2 too high 21 
Noptin – Newsletter, New Post Notifications & Email Automation 10K+ · 4.5★ (120) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #21 ↓2 22 
Landingi Landing Pages 2K+ · 5.0★ (20) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↓5 2 too high 23 
Popup Builder & Popup Maker for WordPress – OptinMonster Email Marketing and Lead Generation 1M+ · 4.3★ (821) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #22 ↓10 1 too high 24 
Thrive Automator 10K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #19 5 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.