wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “form logger”
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 “form logger”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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
Comfort Email SMTP, Logger & Email Api shows at wp.org #10 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 40+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 832 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #1 2 
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form, Quiz, Survey & Custom Form Builder with AI 90K+ · 4.9★ (375) heavy footprint
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (490)
wp.org #4 ↑1 5 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #5 ↓1 6 
Mail logging & Catcher 20K+ · 4.9★ (108)
wp.org #9 3 too low 7 
SMTP Mailer 70K+ · 4.6★ (67)
wp.org #7 8 
Security Ninja – WordPress Security & Firewall 7K+ · 4.7★ (101)
wp.org #8 9 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too low 10 User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832)
wp.org #17 ↓1 7 too low 11 
WP Mail Log 10K+ · 4.9★ (66)
wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too low 12 
Paytium: Mollie payment forms & donations 2K+ · 4.5★ (64)
wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too high 13 
Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397)
wp.org #21 8 too low 14 
Constant Contact Forms 20K+ · 2.6★ (107)
wp.org #6 8 too high 15 
Titan Anti-spam & Security – Brute Force Protection, 2FA & Spam Filter 50K+ · 4.5★ (370) not PHP-current
wp.org #19 4 too low 16 
Advanced Cron Manager – debug & control 30K+ · 4.7★ (39)
wp.org #20 4 too low 17 
WPEPP – Essential Security, Password Protect & Login Page Customizer 3K+ · 4.1★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #14 3 too high 18 
StoreEngine — Complete eCommerce Solution with Memberships, Licensing, Affiliates & More 700+ · 5.0★ (17) not PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #22 4 too low 19 Comfort Email SMTP, Logger & Email Api 40+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↑1 9 too high 20 
Laposta Signup Basic 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #23 3 too low 21 
Payment Gateway with MPGS for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #24 3 too low 22 
Auto WebP Converter & Logger 100+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↑1 6 too high 23 
CFDB Form Notifier 30+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #18 5 too high 24 
Custom SMTP: Email Deliverability – FREE & Easy-to-use 200+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #15 9 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.