wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “mailchimp subscription”
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 “mailchimp subscription”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 2 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
Block for Mailchimp – grow your email list with signup forms shows at wp.org #13 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 832 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Mailchimp for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.0★ (726) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #1 2 
Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220)
wp.org #9 3 too low 7 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too low 8 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #10 ↓2 2 too low 9 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #8 ↑5 1 too high 10 User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832)
wp.org #19 ↑1 9 too low 11 
Another Mailchimp Widget 4K+ · 4.6★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #4 7 too high 12 
SureCart – Ecommerce Made Easy For Selling Physical Products, Digital Downloads, Subscriptions, Donations, & Payments 80K+ · 4.8★ (288) heavy footprint
wp.org #18 6 too low 13 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #21 ↓2 8 too low 14 
Featured Images in RSS for Mailchimp & More 20K+ · 4.3★ (113)
wp.org #16 2 too low 15 
WP WooCommerce Mailchimp 5K+ · 4.3★ (35) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #7 8 too high 16 
MailOptin – Popup, Optin Forms & Email Newsletters for Mailchimp, HubSpot, AWeber Etc. 10K+ · 4.8★ (438) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #22 ↑1 6 too low 17 
Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #17 18 
Subscribe Forms – Beautiful Email Forms, Embedded Newsletter Forms & MailChimp Form 2K+ · 4.7★ (60)
wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too low 19 
Back In Stock Notifier for WooCommerce | WooCommerce Waitlist Pro 20K+ · 4.7★ (122) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #24 5 too low 20 
Newsletter Subscription Form – User Subscriptions Form, Capture Email 1K+ · 4.3★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↓1 8 too high 21 
Email Subscription Popup — Newsletter & GDPR Consent 1K+ · 3.8★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↑1 2 too low 22 Block for Mailchimp – grow your email list with signup forms 2K+ · 3.7★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↓1 9 too high 23 
WP Subscription Forms – Subscription Form Plugin for WordPress 400+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #14 9 too high 24 S Simple Membership MailChimp Integration 900+ · 3.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #15 9 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.