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

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 “intake”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Clio Grow Form shows at wp.org #6 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.3★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #1 2 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #2 3 Happyforms – Form Builder for WordPress: Drag & Drop Contact Forms, Surveys, Payments & Multipurpose Forms 20K+ · 4.4★ (433) wp.org #3 4 Formidable Forms – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Payment, Calculator Form & Custom Form Builder 300K+ · 4.8★ (1388) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 WPBot – AI ChatBot for Live Support, Lead Generation, WordPress Automation, AI Services 5K+ · 4.7★ (124) wp.org #5 6 Appointment Booking Plugin – LatePoint | Calendar & Scheduling for WordPress 100K+ · 4.9★ (106) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Multi Page Auto Advance for Gravity Forms 2K+ · 4.3★ (20) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 File Uploads Addon for WooCommerce 4K+ · 3.7★ (27) wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too low 9 WP Calorie Calculator 900+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #15 ↑2 6 too low 10 fitness calculators 500+ · 4.1★ (8) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too low 11 HelpGent – Video Funnels and Conversational Forms for WordPress 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 ↑2 1 too low 12 WPZOOM Forms – Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder for WordPress 10K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 WOW Styler for CF7 – Visual Styler for Contact Form 7 Forms 3K+ · 3.9★ (14) wp.org #22 9 too low 14 Zoho Forms – Drag & Drop Form Builder for Websites – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Order Forms & More 10K+ · 2.7★ (14) wp.org #16 ↑2 2 too low 15 Clio Grow Form 1K+ · 2.3★ (3) wp.org #6 9 too high 16 AI Intake Assistant — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 4 too low 17 Tabby Checkout 4K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↑2 6 too high 18 KaiCalls AI Intake — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 GemBooking – Appointment Booking, Booking Calendar & Reservations 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓7 2 too high 20 Quill Booking – Appointment Scheduling & Event Management Solution 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too high 21 FormDoctor Patient Intake Tools — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1 3 too low 22 Signature Field With Contact Form 7 300+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↑2 8 too high 23 CI Calorie Calculator 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓4 4 too high 24 HDForms | Contact Form Builder 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↑1 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.