wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “custom profile”
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 profile”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 4 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
User Profile Picture – Custom Local Avatars shows at wp.org #5 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Smash Balloon Social Post Feed – Simple Social Feeds for WordPress places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 1511 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #1 2 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #2 3 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
User Profile Picture 40K+ · 4.6★ (59)
wp.org #3 ↑2 1 too high 5 
WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915)
wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too low 6 
BP Profile Search 5K+ · 5.0★ (71)
wp.org #8 2 too low 7 
Admin Custom Login 10K+ · 4.6★ (388)
wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too low 8 
User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832)
wp.org #15 7 too low 9 
Five Star Business Profile and Schema 7K+ · 4.8★ (52) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #6 ↑3 3 too high 10 Smash Balloon Social Post Feed – Simple Social Feeds for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (1511)
wp.org #23 13 too low 11 
ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 5K+ · 4.6★ (236) not PHP-current
wp.org #17 6 too low 12 
UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP 20K+ · 4.7★ (183)
wp.org #24 12 too low 13 
Profile Extra Fields by BestWebSoft 1K+ · 4.6★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too high 14 
Table Field Add-on for ACF and SCF 50K+ · 4.9★ (60)
wp.org #21 ↑2 7 too low 15 
Custom Post Types and Custom Fields creator – WCK 10K+ · 4.7★ (97) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #14 1 too high 16 
WP Custom Admin Interface 30K+ · 4.7★ (160) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too low 17 
One User Avatar | User Profile Picture 100K+ · 4.7★ (41)
wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too low 18 S Smart Custom Fields 50K+ · 4.9★ (21) heavy footprint thin reviews
wp.org #16 2 too high 19 B BuddyPress Xprofile Custom Field Types 3K+ · 4.9★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #22 3 too low 20 
Advanced User Avatar | Custom Profile Picture Uploader for WordPress, WooCommerce, and BuddyPress 300+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #13 7 too high 21 User Profile Picture – Custom Local Avatars 4K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #5 ↑1 16 too high 22 
Custom Profile Picture – Replace Gravatar with Your Own Images 300+ · 4.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #7 15 too high 23 
Gravatar Enhanced – Avatars, Profiles, and Privacy 100K+ · 5.0★ (3) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↑1 12 too high 24 
CiviCRM Profile Sync 500+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↑1 5 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.