wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “drop down”
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 “drop down”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 3 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
Telephone field for Elementor Forms shows at wp.org #6 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
CMS Tree Page View – Reorder Pages with a Drag-and-Drop Tree places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 365 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.
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #1 2 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #2 3 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #3 4 
HUSKY – Products Filter for WooCommerce Professional. MCP is onboard 80K+ · 4.6★ (337) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #4 ↑2 5 
Post Type Switcher 200K+ · 4.8★ (255)
wp.org #9 ↑10 4 too low 6 
Post and Page Builder by BoldGrid – Visual Drag and Drop Editor 50K+ · 4.7★ (140)
wp.org #10 ↑4 4 too low 7 CMS Tree Page View – Reorder Pages with a Drag-and-Drop Tree 50K+ · 4.9★ (365)
wp.org #13 ↓6 6 too low 8 
Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (742)
wp.org #12 ↑5 4 too low 9 
Drag and Drop Multiple File Upload for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (20) thin reviews
wp.org #5 4 too high 10 
Page Builder: Pagelayer – Drag and Drop website builder 400K+ · 3.9★ (104)
wp.org #7 ↑2 3 too high 11 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #14 ↑2 3 too low 12 
Gravity Forms + Custom Post Types 10K+ · 4.4★ (46)
wp.org #8 ↑5 4 too high 13 
WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209)
wp.org #18 ↓8 5 too low 14 
Force Regenerate Thumbnails 200K+ · 4.7★ (186)
wp.org #16 ↑2 2 too low 15 
Country & Phone Field Contact Form 7 40K+ · 4.5★ (41)
wp.org #11 ↑4 4 too high 16 
FOX – Currency Switcher Professional for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.4★ (250) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #17 ↓6 1 too low 17 
Fonts 8K+ · 4.4★ (99)
wp.org #21 ↑2 4 too low 18 Telephone field for Elementor Forms 4K+ · 5.0★ (6) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #6 ↑2 12 too high 19 
weForms – Easy Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder For WordPress 10K+ · 4.5★ (111) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #19 ↑2 20 
Simple Product Options for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.7★ (35) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↑5 5 too high 21 
Genesis Simple Sidebars 10K+ · 4.4★ (27)
wp.org #23 2 too low 22 
Groovy Menu Plugin (Free) 4K+ · 3.6★ (25)
wp.org #20 ↑2 2 too high 23 
Smart Phone Field For WPForms, Contact Form 7, Fluent Forms, Elementor Forms, WooCommerce, Formidable Forms, Ninja Forms 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) not PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #22 1 too high 24 
Hash Form – Drag & Drop Form Builder 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #24 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.