wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “custom text”
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 text”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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
ELEX WooCommerce Product Price Custom Text (Before & After Text) and Discount shows at wp.org #9 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.6★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager places #6 on merit, 4.7★ from 1028 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. 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 #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 
Simple Custom CSS and JS 600K+ · 4.4★ (104)
wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too high 4 
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588)
wp.org #4 ↑2 5 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #5 ↓1 6 Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (1028)
wp.org #11 ↑1 5 too low 7 
ECS – Ele Custom Skin for Elementor 100K+ · 4.6★ (117)
wp.org #7 ↑6 8 
Custom Permalinks 100K+ · 4.1★ (116)
wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too high 9 
WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1917)
wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too low 10 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #15 ↑1 5 too low 11 
Secure Custom Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (69)
wp.org #10 ↑4 1 too high 12 
Custom Fonts – Host Your Fonts Locally 400K+ · 4.3★ (62)
wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too high 13 
Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (474)
wp.org #23 ↓4 10 too low 14 
Custom Taxonomy Order 50K+ · 4.8★ (96)
wp.org #17 3 too low 15 
Image Alt Text 10K+ · 4.9★ (57)
wp.org #16 ↓7 1 too low 16 
Gallery Custom Links 30K+ · 4.7★ (208)
wp.org #22 ↑2 6 too low 17 
Text To Speech TTS Accessibility 4K+ · 4.8★ (92)
wp.org #18 1 too low 18 
DTX – Dynamic Text Extension for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.7★ (99)
wp.org #21 ↑2 3 too low 19 ELEX WooCommerce Product Price Custom Text (Before & After Text) and Discount 2K+ · 4.6★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #9 ↓1 10 too high 20 
Custom Order Numbers for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.2★ (25)
wp.org #13 ↓3 7 too high 21 
Add to Cart Button Custom Text 9K+ · 4.6★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↓1 9 too high 22 
MB Custom Post Types & Custom Taxonomies 10K+ · 4.7★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↑3 3 too high 23 
Auto Alt Text 4K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #24 1 too low 24 
Animated Text Block – Add Typing and Looping Text Effects 4K+ · 4.8★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #20 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.