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

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 routing”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 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

TNT Conditional Logic Fields for Elementor Forms shows at wp.org #14 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 50+ 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

WebP Express places #11 on merit, 4.4★ from 162 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 signals wp.org

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 #3 1 too low 3

CartFlows – Funnel Builder & Checkout Plugin for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.8★ (517) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #4 1 too low 4

Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (709) wp.org #9 ↓1 5 too low 5

Bit Form – Contact Form, Payment Forms, Multi Step Forms, Calculator & Custom Form Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (259) wp.org #15 10 too low 6

Tidio – Live Chat & AI Chatbots 70K+ · 4.8★ (395) not PHP-current wp.org #12 ↓1 6 too low 7

Lead Form Builder & Contact Form 8K+ · 4.3★ (6) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #2 5 too high 8

Crisp – Live Chat and AI Chatbot 20K+ · 4.6★ (73) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too low 9

Showcase IDX Real Estate Search & Lead Capture 2K+ · 3.8★ (35) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #5 4 too high 10

CallPage – Callback Widget 1K+ · 4.6★ (27) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too low 11

WebP Express 300K+ · 4.4★ (162) wp.org #24 ↓3 13 too low 12

Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress 1M+ · 5.0★ (8) host-installed base thin reviews wp.org #6 6 too high 13

Buying Buddy IDX CRM – Real Estate MLS Plugin 500+ · 5.0★ (6) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #7 6 too high 14

Better Chat Support for Messenger 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #22 8 too low 15

LeadSource – UTM Tracking & Lead Source Attribution for Forms 100+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↓1 5 too high 16

Lead Generation Form – Form Builder, Contact Form, Survey & Inquiry Forms 600+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #8 8 too high 17

FormFlow for GoHighLevel (GHL) – Send Form Leads to GHL CRM 10+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too high 18

Lime Connect (formerly Userlike) – WordPress Live Chat plugin 800+ · 4.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓3 3 too low 19

LeadConnector 20K+ · 2.3★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓2 1 too high 20

Oddeven Lead Routing for Salesforce — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↓3 3 too high 21

WPChat – Live Chat & Messaging Widget for Customer Support 6K+ · 4.5★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too high 22

BotPenguin – Generative AI Chatbot with Live Chat & ChatGPT 600+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓3 1 too low 23

SheetLink Forms for Google Sheets and Excel 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓2 4 too high 24

TNT Conditional Logic Fields for Elementor Forms 50+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #14 ↓1 10 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.