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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “freshdesk”

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 “freshdesk”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

HB FreshDesk shows at wp.org #8 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WS Form LITE – Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder places #5 on merit, 5.0★ from 322 reviews, but shows at wp.org #9. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Gravity Forms FreshDesk Plugin 100+ · 4.9★ (19) wp.org #1 2 Fluent Support – Helpdesk & Customer Support Ticket System 10K+ · 4.6★ (69) wp.org #2 ↑2 3 Database for Contact Form 7, WPforms, Elementor forms 60K+ · 4.8★ (124) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 SAML IDP (Identity Provider) – Login with Website Users 600+ · 4.8★ (62) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too high 5 WS Form LITE – Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (322) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Advanced Form Integration — Connect Forms to 300+ Apps 9K+ · 4.8★ (91) wp.org #6 ↑1 7 SupportCandy – AI Customer Support Ticket System & Live Chatbot Agent 10K+ · 4.9★ (289) wp.org #11 ↑3 4 too low 8 WP OAuth Server ( Login with WordPress ) 1K+ · 4.9★ (41) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too high 9 Bit integrations – Form Integration, Webhook, Spreadsheets, CRM, LMS & Email Automation 20K+ · 4.9★ (160) wp.org #13 ↓2 4 too low 10 CRM Perks – WordPress HelpDesk Integration – Zendesk, Freshdesk, HelpScout 40+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #5 5 too high 11 Social Live Chat Helpdesk – MyAlice 80+ · 5.0★ (40) wp.org #21 ↓1 10 too low 12 Metorik – Reports & Email Automation for WooCommerce 9K+ · 5.0★ (20) wp.org #14 ↓2 2 too low 13 Chatbot for WordPress by Collect.chat ⚡️ 6K+ · 4.4★ (38) wp.org #16 ↓1 3 too low 14 HIPAA Forms 800+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 Support Genix – Helpdesk, AI Chatbot, Knowledge Base & Customer Support Ticketing System 3K+ · 4.5★ (10) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too low 16 ChatBot.com Conversational AI Support 1K+ · 3.7★ (10) wp.org #15 ↓2 1 too high 17 HB FreshDesk 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 ↓2 9 too high 18 Freshdesk (official) 800+ · 2.5★ (8) wp.org #12 ↓2 6 too high 19 Ybug Feedback Widget 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↓2 20 BotPenguin – Generative AI Chatbot with Live Chat & ChatGPT 600+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Send Data from any wp form to Google Sheets, Mailchimp, Notion, Slack & More – EasyLink Automations 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 PepoCloud AI Support Agent for PepoChat — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓2 1 too low 23 Zetra AI Chat — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 SAML IDP – Login with WordPress Users via SAML SSO — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓1 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.