wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “gutenberg blocks”

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 “gutenberg blocks”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 4 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

Gutenberg shows at wp.org #9 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 400K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.1★ average from 3888 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Widget Options – Advanced Conditional Visibility for Gutenberg Blocks & Classic Widgets places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 1516 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) heavy footprint wp.org #1 2

Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint wp.org #2 ↑1 3

Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) heavy footprint wp.org #3 ↓1 4

Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216) heavy footprint wp.org #4 5

Stackable – Page Builder Gutenberg Blocks 100K+ · 4.9★ (522) heavy footprint wp.org #5 6

Disable Gutenberg 500K+ · 5.0★ (735) wp.org #6 7

Ultimate Blocks – 25+ Gutenberg Blocks for Block Editor 50K+ · 4.9★ (729) not PHP-current wp.org #8 1 too low 8

Blocks Animation: CSS Animations for Gutenberg Blocks 90K+ · 4.8★ (73) wp.org #7 1 too high 9

Getwid – Gutenberg Blocks 50K+ · 4.7★ (115) wp.org #10 ↑1 1 too low 10

PublishPress Blocks – Block Controls, Block Visibility, Block Permissions 20K+ · 4.7★ (204) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too low 11

Widget Options – Advanced Conditional Visibility for Gutenberg Blocks & Classic Widgets 100K+ · 4.9★ (1516) wp.org #24 13 too low 12

The Post Grid – Shortcode, Gutenberg Blocks and Elementor Addon for Post Grid 100K+ · 4.8★ (265) wp.org #18 6 too low 13

Spectra Blocks – AI Website Builder for the Block Editor 60K+ · 4.6★ (53) heavy footprint wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too high 14

Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder 9K+ · 4.8★ (90) heavy footprint wp.org #15 1 too low 15

Gutenberg 400K+ · 2.1★ (3888) wp.org #9 6 too high 16

Gutentor – Gutenberg Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor 30K+ · 4.6★ (90) wp.org #19 3 too low 17

GutenKit – Page Builder Blocks, Patterns, and Templates for Gutenberg Block Editor 80K+ · 4.5★ (48) heavy footprint wp.org #14 ↓4 3 too high 18

Blocks CSS: CSS Editor for Gutenberg Blocks 4K+ · 4.9★ (25) wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too high 19

Premium Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Patterns & Templates 2K+ · 4.8★ (41) wp.org #16 3 too high 20

Superb Addons: Blocks, Patterns, Pre-built Pages, Sliders, Popups, Free Forms, Animations & More 80K+ · 4.9★ (23) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too low 21

BlockArt Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder Blocks ,WordPress Block Plugin, Sections & Template Library 10K+ · 4.9★ (16) heavy footprint thin reviews wp.org #17 4 too high 22

GutenBee – Gutenberg Blocks 6K+ · 4.9★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too high 23

No Gutenberg? – Choose Where to Use the Block Editor or the Classic Editor 9K+ · 5.0★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↑2 1 too high 24

Snow Monkey Blocks 30K+ · 4.4★ (7) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #23 1 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.