wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “insightly”
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 “insightly”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 of the top 16. 6 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
WP GoToWebinar shows at wp.org #5 but places #9 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.9★ average from 15 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Formidable Forms – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Payment, Calculator Form & Custom Form Builder places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 1387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397)
wp.org #3 ↑1 2 too low 2 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too low 3 
WP Insightly for Contact Form 7, WPForms, Elementor, Formidable and Ninja Forms 100+ · 5.0★ (7) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #1 2 too high 4 
WP Gravity Forms Insightly 40+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #2 2 too high 5 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Formidable Forms – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Payment, Calculator Form & Custom Form Builder 300K+ · 4.8★ (1387)
wp.org #12 6 too low 7 
Advanced Form Integration — Connect Forms to 300+ Apps 9K+ · 4.8★ (91)
wp.org #8 1 too low 8 
Contact Form to Any API 8K+ · 5.0★ (28) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #7 1 too high 9 WP GoToWebinar 600+ · 4.9★ (15) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #5 4 too high 10 
HT Contact Form – Drag & Drop Form Builder for WordPress 10K+ · 4.2★ (5) not PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #6 4 too high 11 
Attributer: UTM & Lead Source Tracking for WPForms, Gravity Forms, Contact Form 7 & More 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #10 1 too high 12 
Vitxi Converse – Intelligent AI chatbot for Social Media — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #11 1 too high 13 
AcconsentoBot — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #13 14 
MailSend by 500apps – Email Marketing Plugin To Send Unlimited Emails To Your Subscribers — · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews
wp.org #16 2 too low 15 
MiragetConnector 10+ · 5.0★ (1) closure risk thin reviews
wp.org #14 1 too high 16 
Toky Click To Call 10+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-currentclosure risk thin reviews
wp.org #15 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.