wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “experience builder”
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 “experience builder”, 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
Popup builder with Gamification, Multi-Step Popups, Page-Level Targeting, and WooCommerce Triggers shows at wp.org #11 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 70K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 4699 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★ (7322)
wp.org #1 2 
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #2 3 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #3 4 
Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215)
wp.org #5 ↑6 1 too low 5 
FunnelKit – Funnel Builder Plugin for WooCommerce Checkout 30K+ · 5.0★ (1028)
wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too low 6 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333)
wp.org #6 ↓1 7 
Depicter — Popup & Slider Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (236)
wp.org #7 ↓1 8 
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833)
wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode 600K+ · 4.9★ (4699)
wp.org #13 ↑5 4 too low 10 
Xpro Theme Builder For Elementor – FREE 20K+ · 5.0★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #4 6 too high 11 
Page Builder by SiteOrigin 400K+ · 4.8★ (1005)
wp.org #12 ↑2 1 too low 12 
Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514)
wp.org #16 ↓4 4 too low 13 
CartFlows – Funnel Builder & Checkout Plugin for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.8★ (517)
wp.org #14 ↓4 1 too low 14 
Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528)
wp.org #15 ↑5 1 too low 15 
Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder (UABB) 20K+ · 5.0★ (332)
wp.org #17 ↓2 2 too low 16 
Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer 400K+ · 4.5★ (81)
wp.org #10 ↓2 6 too high 17 
Post and Page Builder by BoldGrid – Visual Drag and Drop Editor 50K+ · 4.7★ (140)
wp.org #19 ↓2 2 too low 18 
Cost Calculator Builder 20K+ · 4.5★ (393)
wp.org #22 4 too low 19 
Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251)
wp.org #21 ↑3 2 too low 20 
MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509)
wp.org #23 ↓4 3 too low 21 
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440)
wp.org #24 3 too low 22 
Page Builder: Pagelayer – Drag and Drop website builder 400K+ · 3.9★ (104)
wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too high 23 Popup builder with Gamification, Multi-Step Popups, Page-Level Targeting, and WooCommerce Triggers 70K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↑2 12 too high 24 
Bold Page Builder 40K+ · 3.6★ (66)
wp.org #18 ↓2 6 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.