wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “duplicate entry”
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 “duplicate entry”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 2 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
Clone Gravity Form Entry shows at wp.org #8 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 90+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ 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 #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Duplicate Page 3M+ · 4.8★ (466)
wp.org #1 2 
Delete Duplicate Posts 10K+ · 4.8★ (153)
wp.org #2 3 
Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (107)
wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 
Database Addon For WPForms ( wpforms entries ) – WPFormsDB 20K+ · 5.0★ (131)
wp.org #7 3 too low 5 
WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging 900K+ · 4.9★ (1568)
wp.org #9 ↓3 4 too low 6 
GSheetConnector – CF7 Google Sheets Connector & Save CF7 Entries to Database 40K+ · 4.4★ (129) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too high 7 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #10 3 too low 8 
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #12 4 too low 9 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #16 7 too low 10 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #14 4 too low 11 
Form Vibes – Save Contact Form 7 & Elementor Form Entries to Database 10K+ · 4.9★ (132)
wp.org #13 2 too low 12 
Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397)
wp.org #19 ↑1 7 too low 13 
Views for WPForms – Display & Edit WPForms Entries on your site frontend 1K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #11 2 too high 14 
Duplicate Killer – Prevent Duplicate Form Submissions 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #3 11 too high 15 
Duplicate Post Page Menu & Custom Post Type 10K+ · 4.9★ (92)
wp.org #22 7 too low 16 
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) heavy footprint
wp.org #21 5 too low 17 
Drag and Drop Multiple File Upload for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (94)
wp.org #23 6 too low 18 
Duplicate Title Validator 300+ · 5.0★ (4) not PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #6 ↑2 12 too high 19 
Back In Stock Notifier for WooCommerce | WooCommerce Waitlist Pro 20K+ · 4.7★ (122) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #24 5 too low 20 
GSheetConnector – WPForms Google Sheets Connector, Save WPForms Lite & PRO Entries to Database & Sheets 7K+ · 4.6★ (18) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too high 21 
Gravity Forms CLI Add-On 20K+ · 4.4★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too high 22 Clone Gravity Form Entry 90+ · 4.3★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↑1 14 too high 23 
neo Duplicate – Copy images with one click! 50+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↑2 8 too high 24 
GF No Duplicates 600+ · 4.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↑1 7 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.