wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “leads manager”

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 “leads manager”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

Interlinks Manager – Internal Links Optimizer shows at wp.org #14 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 7K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.6★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 3221 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

File Manager 1M+ · 4.6★ (1492) wp.org #1 2

Download Manager 90K+ · 4.1★ (1006) wp.org #2 3

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #3 1 too high 5

Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #5 ↑3 6

Easy Updates Manager 300K+ · 4.8★ (726) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7

Stock Manager for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.2★ (130) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #13 5 too low 9

File Manager 10K+ · 4.3★ (202) wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too high 10

FluentCRM – Email Newsletter, Automation, Email Marketing, Email Campaigns, Optins, Leads, and CRM Solution 80K+ · 4.8★ (250) wp.org #12 ↑3 2 too low 11

Checkout Field Editor (Checkout Manager) for WooCommerce 400K+ · 4.9★ (1056) wp.org #15 ↓8 4 too low 12

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8709) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too low 13

Jetpack CRM – Clients, Leads, Invoices, Billing, Email Marketing, & Automation 30K+ · 4.3★ (152) wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too high 14

PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too high 15

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #22 7 too low 16

Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) wp.org #21 5 too low 17

Smart Manager – Bulk Edit for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.4★ (288) wp.org #18 1 too low 18

Ads.txt Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #9 ↑1 9 too high 19

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too low 20

WP Plugin Manager – Deactivate plugins per page 3K+ · 4.4★ (23) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too high 22

Dynamic Team Manager – Team Member Showcase with grid, slider, table Elementor widget & shortcode 900+ · 4.6★ (25) wp.org #24 ↓1 2 too low 23

FluentPlayer – Video Player With Forms & Lead Capture 2K+ · 4.7★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓1 24

Interlinks Manager – Internal Links Optimizer 7K+ · 4.6★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #14 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.