wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “custom registration”
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 registration”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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
Registration Form for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #12 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 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 #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. 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 #2 ↓1 3 
User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832)
wp.org #4 ↓2 1 too low 4 
Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276)
wp.org #3 ↑3 1 too high 5 
RegistrationMagic – Custom Registration Forms, User Registration, Payment, and User Login 7K+ · 4.5★ (459)
wp.org #5 ↓2 6 
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221)
wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #7 ↓2 8 
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too low 9 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too low 10 
Event Tickets and Registration 90K+ · 3.5★ (236)
wp.org #6 ↓2 4 too high 11 
Eventin – Events Calendar, Tickets, Registration, Booking & WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (413)
wp.org #14 3 too low 12 
Secure Custom Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (69)
wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too high 13 
Event Booking Manager for WooCommerce – Sell Tickets, Event Registration, RSVP & Event Calendar 6K+ · 4.5★ (167)
wp.org #11 2 too high 14 
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205)
wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too low 15 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #21 ↓1 6 too low 16 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520)
wp.org #24 ↓1 8 too low 17 
Registrations for the Events Calendar – Event Registration Plugin 7K+ · 5.0★ (103)
wp.org #17 ↓1 18 
Admin Custom Login 10K+ · 4.6★ (388)
wp.org #23 ↓1 5 too low 19 
Custom Post Types and Custom Fields creator – WCK 10K+ · 4.7★ (97)
wp.org #19 ↓1 20 
AJAX Login and Registration modal popup + inline form 3K+ · 4.7★ (120)
wp.org #22 ↓1 2 too low 21 
Event Genius – Event Calendar, Event Registration, and Attendee Management 600+ · 4.8★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓3 5 too high 22 D Disable WP Registration Page 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too high 23 Registration Form for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↓2 11 too high 24 
Custom Fields Account Registration For Woocommerce 800+ · 3.7★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #15 9 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.