wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “custom links”
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 links”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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.
Buried gem
PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 1322 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. 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 ↑1 2 
Gallery Custom Links 30K+ · 4.7★ (208)
wp.org #2 ↓1 3 
Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276)
wp.org #3 ↑5 4 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 
Simple Custom CSS and JS 600K+ · 4.4★ (104)
wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too high 7 
Internal Link Juicer: SEO Auto Linker for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (537)
wp.org #8 ↑3 1 too low 8 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322)
wp.org #12 ↑2 4 too low 9 
Custom Permalinks 100K+ · 4.1★ (116)
wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too high 10 
Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (1028)
wp.org #14 ↑3 4 too low 11 
Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605)
wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too high 12 
ECS – Ele Custom Skin for Elementor 100K+ · 4.6★ (117)
wp.org #10 ↑12 2 too high 13 
External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window 80K+ · 4.3★ (247)
wp.org #13 ↓1 14 
Secure Custom Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (69)
wp.org #11 ↓2 3 too high 15 P Page Links To 100K+ · 4.9★ (157)
wp.org #15 16 
WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1917)
wp.org #22 ↓4 6 too low 17 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #24 7 too low 18 
Custom Taxonomy Order 50K+ · 4.8★ (96)
wp.org #17 ↑3 1 too high 19 
Custom Post Type Permalinks 200K+ · 4.8★ (71)
wp.org #16 ↑3 3 too high 20 
EXMAGE – WordPress Image Links 5K+ · 5.0★ (33)
wp.org #20 ↑1 21 
Skyboot Custom Icons for Elementor – Elementor Icons library – 14300+ Icons 200K+ · 5.0★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓2 3 too high 22 
Custom Order Numbers for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.2★ (25)
wp.org #19 ↓6 3 too high 23 
MB Custom Post Types & Custom Taxonomies 10K+ · 4.7★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↑3 2 too high 24 
Affiliate Links – Link Cloaking and Management 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #23 1 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.