wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “list building”
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 “list building”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 5 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
Dashboard To-Do List shows at wp.org #9 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 4514 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Optin Forms – Simple List Building Plugin for WordPress 2K+ · 4.6★ (72)
wp.org #1 2 
Internal Links Manager 10K+ · 4.8★ (33)
wp.org #2 3 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #3 4 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current
wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #7 1 too low 7 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too low 8 
Contact List – Online Staff Directory & Address Book 1K+ · 4.8★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #4 4 too high 9 Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514)
wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too low 10 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #15 5 too low 11 
Product Table & List Builder for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.9★ (254)
wp.org #12 1 too low 12 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too high 13 
12 Step Meeting List 900+ · 5.0★ (28)
wp.org #8 5 too high 14 
Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4342) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #16 ↓2 2 too low 15 
Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276)
wp.org #13 ↑5 2 too high 16 
WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195)
wp.org #19 ↓2 3 too low 17 
Internal Link Juicer: SEO Auto Linker for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (537)
wp.org #24 ↓1 7 too low 18 
Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) heavy footprint
wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too high 19 
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) heavy footprint
wp.org #18 ↑4 1 too high 20 
Responsive Team Members Showcase, Team Grid, Team Slider, and Staff List – Smart Team (formerly WP Team) 5K+ · 4.7★ (92)
wp.org #20 ↓1 21 
Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187)
wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Dashboard To-Do List 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #9 13 too high 23 
MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 
CM Curated List Manager – Effortless tool for link management 70+ · 5.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓1 2 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.