wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “custom features”
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 “custom features”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20.
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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Turn Off AI Features shows at wp.org #18 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 474 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440)
wp.org #1 2 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 
Simple Custom CSS and JS 600K+ · 4.4★ (104)
wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too high 4 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588)
wp.org #4 ↑2 5 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #5 ↓1 6 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039)
wp.org #7 1 too low 7 
Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (1028)
wp.org #11 ↑2 4 too low 8 
Custom Permalinks 100K+ · 4.1★ (116)
wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too high 9 
WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1916)
wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10 
ECS – Ele Custom Skin for Elementor 100K+ · 4.6★ (117)
wp.org #9 1 too high 11 
Secure Custom Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (69)
wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (474)
wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too low 13 
Custom Fonts – Host Your Fonts Locally 400K+ · 4.3★ (62)
wp.org #8 5 too high 14 
Custom Taxonomy Order 50K+ · 4.8★ (96)
wp.org #13 ↑2 1 too high 15 
Custom Twitter Feeds – A Tweets Widget or X Feed Widget 100K+ · 4.8★ (401)
wp.org #20 ↑2 5 too low 16 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #22 ↓3 6 too low 17 
Custom Order Status Manager for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.7★ (117)
wp.org #19 ↑1 2 too low 18 
Skyboot Custom Icons for Elementor – Elementor Icons library – 14300+ Icons 200K+ · 5.0★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓2 4 too high 19 
Custom Post Types and Custom Fields creator – WCK 10K+ · 4.7★ (97)
wp.org #23 4 too low 20 
Custom Order Numbers for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.2★ (25)
wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too high 21 
MB Custom Post Types & Custom Taxonomies 10K+ · 4.7★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too high 22 
List Custom Taxonomy Widget 8K+ · 4.7★ (21) thin reviews
wp.org #21 1 too high 23 
CodeKit – Custom Codes Editor 7K+ · 4.8★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Turn Off AI Features 400+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #18 6 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.