wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “input”
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 “input”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 17 of the top 20. 7 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
Input Masks for Elementor Forms shows at wp.org #4 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 600+ 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
Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 474 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Input Mask For Elementor Form Fields 10K+ · 4.5★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too low 2 
Product Input Fields for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.0★ (17) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #1 ↑1 1 too high 3 
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220)
wp.org #10 ↓1 7 too low 4 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #7 3 too low 5 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #12 ↓1 7 too low 6 
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #18 ↑5 12 too low 7 
MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 ↑4 2 too low 8 
Database Addon for Contact Form 7 – CFDB7 600K+ · 5.0★ (1875)
wp.org #19 11 too low 9 
Two Factor 100K+ · 4.7★ (209)
wp.org #15 ↑7 6 too low 10 Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (474)
wp.org #23 13 too low 11 
Advanced Product Fields (Product Addons) for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.8★ (284)
wp.org #20 ↓6 9 too low 12 
Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397)
wp.org #22 10 too low 13 
International Telephone Input With Flags And Dial Codes 1K+ · 4.1★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #3 10 too high 14 
Form Input Masks For Elementor Forms 10K+ · 4.1★ (18) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #5 9 too high 15 
WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #6 9 too high 16 
Availability Datepicker – Booking Calendar for Contact Form 7 – Input WP 10K+ · 4.1★ (42)
wp.org #13 ↓3 3 too high 17 
PPOM – Product Addons & Custom Fields for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.5★ (283) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #21 ↓3 4 too low 18 
Quantity Plus Minus Button for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.4★ (30) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #14 ↑1 4 too high 19 
Co-Authors Plus 20K+ · 3.5★ (77)
wp.org #24 5 too low 20 Z zipaddr-jp 50K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #16 4 too high 21 
SilkyPress Input Field Block 100+ · 5.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #8 13 too high 22 Input Masks for Elementor Forms 600+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #4 18 too high 23 
Input Masks for Contact Form 7 800+ · 0.0★ (0) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↑1 12 too high 24 
Telephone Input For Contact Form 7 700+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #17 7 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.