wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “custom plugin”
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 plugin”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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
Download Plugin shows at wp.org #10 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 60K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 27 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 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) heavy footprint
wp.org #1 ↑1 2 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #2 ↓1 3 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708)
wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 
Simple Custom CSS and JS 600K+ · 4.4★ (104)
wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too high 5 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588)
wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 
Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276)
wp.org #5 ↑4 2 too high 8 
Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504)
wp.org #13 5 too low 9 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 ↓1 10 
Custom Permalinks 100K+ · 4.1★ (116)
wp.org #8 ↓3 2 too high 11 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too low 12 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13 
Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (1028)
wp.org #18 5 too low 14 
ECS – Ele Custom Skin for Elementor 100K+ · 4.6★ (117)
wp.org #14 15 
Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #12 3 too high 16 
Custom Fonts – Host Your Fonts Locally 400K+ · 4.3★ (62)
wp.org #11 5 too high 17 
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #19 ↓2 2 too low 18 Download Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (27)
wp.org #10 8 too high 19 
Secure Custom Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (69) heavy footprint
wp.org #15 ↑5 4 too high 20 
Custom Taxonomy Order 50K+ · 4.8★ (96)
wp.org #24 4 too low 21 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current
wp.org #22 1 too low 22 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too high 23 
Custom Post Type Permalinks 200K+ · 4.8★ (71)
wp.org #23 24 
Skyboot Custom Icons for Elementor – Elementor Icons library – 14300+ Icons 200K+ · 5.0★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↓6 4 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.