Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “get fields”

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 “get fields”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 5 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.

S

Ranked above its merit

Smart Custom Fields shows at wp.org #9 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 50K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.9★ average from 21 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 #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. 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 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #2 3 Flexible Checkout Fields for WooCommerce – WooCommerce Checkout Manager 80K+ · 4.7★ (296) wp.org #3 4 Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (973) wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too low 5 Secure Custom Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (69) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Table Field Add-on for ACF and SCF 50K+ · 4.9★ (60) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 Checkout Field Editor (Checkout Manager) for WooCommerce 400K+ · 4.9★ (1056) wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too low 8 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 Conditional Fields for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.8★ (166) wp.org #5 ↓3 4 too high 10 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #17 ↑1 7 too low 11 Advanced Custom Fields: Font Awesome Field 90K+ · 4.9★ (36) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too high 12 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #20 ↓1 8 too low 13 Flexible Product Fields (WooCommerce Product Addons) – WooCommerce Product Page Editor 10K+ · 4.5★ (106) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too high 14 WC Fields Factory 7K+ · 4.3★ (168) wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too high 15 S Smart Custom Fields 50K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #9 ↓1 6 too high 16 Advanced Custom Fields: Extended 100K+ · 4.8★ (132) wp.org #21 ↓1 5 too low 17 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #22 ↓1 5 too low 18 Conditional Fields for Elementor Form – Apply Conditional Logic 10K+ · 4.7★ (32) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too high 19 Admin Columns for ACF Fields 9K+ · 4.9★ (20) wp.org #18 ↓2 1 too high 20 Request a Quote for WooCommerce – Get a Quote Button 6K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too high 21 Profile Extra Fields by BestWebSoft 1K+ · 4.6★ (15) wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too high 22 Custom Post Types and Custom Fields creator – WCK 10K+ · 4.7★ (97) wp.org #24 ↓1 2 too low 23 WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 Get Cash 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓4 5 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.