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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “field sets”

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 “field sets”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 6 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

Datafeedr Product Sets shows at wp.org #6 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 474 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #1 2 Checkout Field Editor (Checkout Manager) for WooCommerce 400K+ · 4.9★ (1056) wp.org #2 3 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #3 4 Table Field Add-on for ACF and SCF 50K+ · 4.9★ (60) wp.org #4 ↑2 5 Flexible Checkout Fields for WooCommerce – WooCommerce Checkout Manager 80K+ · 4.7★ (296) wp.org #11 ↑1 6 too low 6 Meta Field Block – Display Custom Fields for ACF, Meta Box and More 10K+ · 5.0★ (57) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Checkout Field Editor for WooCommerce – Checkout Manager 20K+ · 4.9★ (165) wp.org #14 ↑1 7 too low 8 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #18 10 too low 9 Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (474) wp.org #23 14 too low 10 Advanced Product Fields (Product Addons) for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.8★ (284) wp.org #22 12 too low 11 Custom Field Template 30K+ · 4.0★ (24) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Datafeedr Comparison Sets 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #5 ↓1 7 too high 13 Conditional Fields for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.8★ (166) wp.org #15 ↓2 2 too low 14 Advanced Custom Fields: Font Awesome Field 90K+ · 4.9★ (36) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 WC – APG NIF/CIF/NIE Field 10K+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #10 ↑1 5 too high 16 Blocks for ACF Fields — Display Custom Fields in the Block Editor 2K+ · 4.9★ (13) wp.org #13 ↓4 3 too high 17 Checkout Field Editor (Checkout Manager) for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (40) wp.org #21 4 too low 18 Telephone field for Elementor Forms 4K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #9 ↑1 9 too high 19 Country Code For Elementor Form Telephone Field 10K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #19 20 Datafeedr Product Sets 4K+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #6 ↓1 14 too high 21 ACF Field For CF7 10K+ · 4.7★ (11) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Advanced Custom Fields: Typography Field 3K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #12 ↑2 10 too high 23 Signature field for Elementor Forms 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #16 7 too high 24 Repeater Fields for WPForms 400+ · 5.0★ (3) 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.