wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “custom post type calendar”
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 post type calendar”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 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
Custom Post Type Widgets shows at wp.org #8 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 14 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 4,132 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
How this rank is calculated
Each plugin's merit score multiplies these inputs together: how recently it was updated, how current its "tested up to" WordPress version is, its install base (log scale, capped at 10 million), its support thread resolution rate, and a rating score. The rating score weights the star average by review volume against a sitewide prior, then scales it by the lower bound of the share of 4 and 5 star reviews. A plugin with 3.7 stars from tens of thousands of reviews can still outscore a 4.9 with a few dozen, because the small sample carries less certainty.
A health factor between 0.4 and 1.15 then adjusts that score for what wp.org's search can't see: PHP fatals or failed activations on a test install, PHP and WordPress compatibility, memory and page-speed footprint, suspicious review patterns, closure risk, and a large install base with very few reviews. Clean, adopted plugins earn a small lift.
A keyword ranking starts from wp.org's search order for the term, weighting each position by 1 divided by its place, then applies the merit correction and health factor above. Relevance to the keyword stays in the result, so the order can differ from the all-categories list on /best, which scores plugins with no search term.
Hover a row to see the main reason for its position.
The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2,463)
wp.org #1 2 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588)
wp.org #3 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 3 
Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276)
wp.org #2 wp.org ranks it 1 place above merit 4 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #5 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 5 
Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296)
wp.org #4 wp.org ranks it 1 place above merit 6 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2,146)
wp.org #7 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 7 
My Calendar – Accessible Event Manager 20K+ · 4.7★ (159)
wp.org #6 wp.org ranks it 1 place above merit 8 
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551)
wp.org #9 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 9 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #11 wp.org ranks it 2 places below merit 10 
Booking for Appointments and Events Calendar – Amelia 90K+ · 4.6★ (793)
wp.org #13 wp.org ranks it 3 places below merit 11 
EventPrime – Events Calendar, Bookings, Tickets & AI 7K+ · 4.4★ (85)
wp.org #10 wp.org ranks it 1 place above merit 12 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4,132)
wp.org #19 wp.org ranks it 7 places below merit 13 
Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80)
wp.org #12 wp.org ranks it 1 place above merit 14 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14,389)
wp.org #24 ↓2 wp.org ranks it 10 places below merit 15 
Simple Calendar – Google Calendar, Events, & ICS Feeds 50K+ · 3.8★ (397)
wp.org #15 16 
Editorial Calendar 20K+ · 4.9★ (79)
wp.org #16 17 
The Events Calendar Shortcode & Block 10K+ · 4.7★ (101)
wp.org #17 18 
Events Shortcodes For The Events Calendar 10K+ · 4.9★ (214)
wp.org #22 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 4 places below merit 19 C Custom Post Type Widgets 10K+ · 4.8★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #8 wp.org ranks it 11 places above merit 20 
The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265)
wp.org #23 wp.org ranks it 3 places below merit 21 
Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58)
wp.org #20 ↓2 wp.org ranks it 1 place above merit 22 
Sugar Calendar – Events Calendar, Event Tickets, and Events Management Platform 10K+ · 4.5★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #14 wp.org ranks it 8 places above merit 23 
EventON – Events Calendar 6K+ · 4.1★ (44)
wp.org #21 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 2 places above merit 24 
تقویم فارسی – Persian Calendar 3K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↑6 wp.org ranks it 6 places above merit Merit ranking caps the install boost at 10M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted 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.