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← Rankings

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

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 “inbound”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Leadfeeder shows at wp.org #8 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Advanced Form Integration — Connect Forms to 300+ Apps places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 91 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 ATUM WooCommerce Inventory Management and Stock Tracking 10K+ · 4.7★ (128) wp.org #1 2 404 to 301 – Redirect Manager, 301 Redirection, 404 Error Logs & 404 Monitoring 100K+ · 4.7★ (321) wp.org #2 3 3CX Free Live Chat, Calls & Messaging 100K+ · 4.6★ (820) wp.org #3 4 MWB HubSpot for WooCommerce – CRM, Abandoned Cart, Email Marketing, Marketing Automation & Analytics 6K+ · 3.8★ (55) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too low 5 Link Manager – Analyze, Automate, and Monitor Links 1K+ · 4.4★ (10) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Link Whisper Free 30K+ · 4.2★ (150) wp.org #15 9 too low 7 HubSpot All-In-One Marketing – Forms, Popups, Live Chat 200K+ · 4.3★ (207) wp.org #18 ↓4 11 too low 8 Advanced Form Integration — Connect Forms to 300+ Apps 9K+ · 4.8★ (91) wp.org #22 14 too low 9 CallRail Phone Call Tracking 10K+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too low 11 AntiSpam for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 Store file uploads for Contact Form 7 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 Interlinks Manager – Internal Links Optimizer 7K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 AC Advanced Flamingo Settings 800+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 9 too high 15 Visitor Analytics and Lead Generation Plugin by Inbound Rocket 10+ · 4.1★ (9) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 MailerSend – Official SMTP Integration 2K+ · 2.8★ (12) wp.org #16 17 Simple Link Checker 10+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too low 18 Leadfeeder 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↓1 10 too high 19 Charla Live Chat 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 9 too high 20 Viva.com | Smart Checkout for WooCommerce 7K+ · 2.3★ (7) wp.org #12 8 too high 21 LinkMesh: Semantic AI Internal Links for SEO 90+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 22 Link Map Insights 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓2 1 too low 23 DominoPost – Advanced Post Editor with AI Writer, Link Building Suite, Free Google Search Console & GA4 Analytics 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too high 24 Relinka – Internal Linking & Orphan Page Finder 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.