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

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 “crm”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Zoho CRM Lead Magnet shows at wp.org #6 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.1★ average from 25 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 807 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

FluentCRM – Email Newsletter, Automation, Email Marketing, Email Campaigns, Optins, Leads, and CRM Solution 80K+ · 4.8★ (250) wp.org #1 ↑1 2

Jetpack CRM – Clients, Leads, Invoices, Billing, Email Marketing, & Automation 30K+ · 4.3★ (152) wp.org #2 ↓1 3

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #3 4

CRM Perks Forms – WordPress Form Builder 1K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #4 ↑1 5

WP Fusion Lite – Marketing Automation and CRM Integration for WordPress 4K+ · 5.0★ (69) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6

Bit integrations – Form Integration, Webhook, Spreadsheets, CRM, LMS & Email Automation 20K+ · 4.9★ (160) wp.org #10 ↑2 4 too low 7

WP Gravity Forms Dynamics CRM 300+ · 4.9★ (20) thin reviews wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too high 8

CRM Perks Integration for Gravity Forms and Salesforce 1K+ · 4.9★ (139) wp.org #13 5 too low 9

Groundhogg — CRM, Newsletters, and Marketing Automation 2K+ · 4.8★ (150) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #9 ↓5 10

Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #18 ↓3 8 too low 11

WP Zoho for Contact Form 7, WPForms, Elementor, Formidable and Ninja Forms – CRM, Bigin 3K+ · 5.0★ (44) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too high 12

Database for Contact Form 7, WPforms, Elementor forms 60K+ · 4.8★ (124) wp.org #16 ↑1 4 too low 13

Integration for WooCommerce and Zoho CRM, Books, Invoice, Inventory, Bigin 1K+ · 5.0★ (84) wp.org #15 ↓5 2 too low 14

FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #22 ↓3 8 too low 15

WP Dynamics CRM for Contact Form 7, WPForms, Elementor, Formidable and Ninja Forms 300+ · 4.9★ (19) thin reviews wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too high 16

ERP: Complete HR, Accounting & CRM Suite Built for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.4★ (149) not PHP-current wp.org #21 ↑2 5 too low 17

WP Gravity Forms Zoho CRM and Bigin 400+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #19 2 too low 18

SureContact – Newsletters, Email Marketing, Automation, Revenue Tracking & CRM 10K+ · 4.8★ (21) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too low 19

Zoho CRM Lead Magnet 3K+ · 3.1★ (25) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 ↑1 13 too high 20

WP-CRM System – Manage Clients and Projects 700+ · 3.9★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #14 6 too high 21

Bit CRM: Sales CRM Manage Lead, Contact, Deal, Invoice, Client Portal & Collect Payment 300+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↑5 10 too high 22

Lead Form Data Collection to CRM 400+ · 4.0★ (46) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #23 1 too low 23

Buying Buddy IDX CRM – Real Estate MLS Plugin 500+ · 5.0★ (6) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #24 1 too low 24

Extended CRM for Users Insights 400+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↑1 7 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.