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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “lead generator”

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

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

AI Marketing Expert — AI Email Marketing, AI Content Generator, SEO Analyzer, AI Workflow Automation, Social Media & Ai Chatbot shows at wp.org #12 but places #22 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

Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 973 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 wp.org
1 XML Sitemap Generator for Google 1M+ · 4.8★ (2233) wp.org #1 2 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #2 3 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too low 4 PDF Generator for WordPress 1K+ · 4.6★ (39) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 MxChat – AI Chatbot & Content Generation for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 WPBot – AI ChatBot for Live Support, Lead Generation, WordPress Automation, AI Services 5K+ · 4.7★ (124) wp.org #7 ↑2 8 Stylish Cost Calculator – Quote Generator, Lead Gen & Price Estimator 1K+ · 4.8★ (175) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too low 9 Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (108) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too low 11 Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (973) wp.org #24 13 too low 12 SureForms – Contact Form Builder, AI Forms, Payment Form, Survey & Quiz 500K+ · 4.8★ (102) wp.org #13 ↓3 1 too low 13 Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) wp.org #22 9 too low 14 DK PDF – WordPress PDF Generator 3K+ · 4.5★ (44) wp.org #17 ↑1 3 too low 15 CF7 Apps – Addons for Contact Form 7 (Honeypot, Database, Redirection, Webhook, etc.) 300K+ · 3.8★ (135) wp.org #18 ↓2 3 too low 16 Real Thumbnail Generator: Efficient regeneration of thumbnails in all sizes 1K+ · 3.7★ (15) wp.org #8 ↓1 8 too high 17 Cozy Blocks – Website Builder & Business Growth Toolkit | Popups, Lead Forms & Inbox 6K+ · 4.6★ (21) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 ImgSEO – AI Image Alt Text Generator & Image SEO Tools 400+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19 Social Profile Frame Generator – Custom Social Media Frames Creator 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 ↑4 9 too high 20 Free Property Valuation (Lead Generator) / Kostenlose Immobilienbewertung 500+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too high 21 BitBot – AI Chatbot, Content Generator, Forms & Leads 70+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #15 6 too high 22 AI Marketing Expert — AI Email Marketing, AI Content Generator, SEO Analyzer, AI Workflow Automation, Social Media & Ai Chatbot 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 10 too high 23 Cloudi7 ID Card Generator 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Easy Subscribe 1K+ · 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.