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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “group 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 “group fields”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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 #11 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 10 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

Checkout Field Editor (Checkout Manager) for WooCommerce places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 1056 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. 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 #4 1 too low 4 Conditional Fields for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.8★ (166) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Advanced Product Fields (Product Addons) for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.8★ (284) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (973) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too low 8 Secure Custom Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (69) wp.org #5 ↑1 3 too high 9 Table Field Add-on for ACF and SCF 50K+ · 4.9★ (60) wp.org #7 ↑3 2 too high 10 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #14 ↓2 4 too low 11 Checkout Field Editor (Checkout Manager) for WooCommerce 400K+ · 4.9★ (1056) wp.org #18 ↓4 7 too low 12 Flexible Product Fields (WooCommerce Product Addons) – WooCommerce Product Page Editor 10K+ · 4.5★ (106) wp.org #12 ↑1 13 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #21 ↓1 8 too low 14 Advanced Custom Fields: Font Awesome Field 90K+ · 4.9★ (36) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too high 15 Advanced Custom Fields: Extended 100K+ · 4.8★ (132) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 Groups – Memberships and Access Control 10K+ · 4.8★ (382) wp.org #22 ↓1 6 too low 17 Meta Field Block – Display Custom Fields for ACF, Meta Box and More 10K+ · 5.0★ (57) wp.org #13 ↑4 4 too high 18 WC Fields Factory 7K+ · 4.3★ (168) wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too high 19 BuddyPress 90K+ · 4.1★ (375) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 5K+ · 4.6★ (236) wp.org #20 ↑4 21 S Smart Custom Fields 50K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #11 10 too high 22 Admin Columns for ACF Fields 8K+ · 4.9★ (20) wp.org #15 7 too high 23 Custom Post Types and Custom Fields creator – WCK 10K+ · 4.7★ (97) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 WC – APG NIF/CIF/NIE Field 10K+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #19 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.