wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “multi dropdown”
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 “multi dropdown”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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
RTMForm – Contact Form, Multi-Step Forms & Form Templates for Elementor shows at wp.org #8 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 30K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 14 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Bit Form – Contact Form, Payment Forms, Multi Step Forms, Calculator & Custom Form Builder places #11 on merit, 5.0★ from 259 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 
Webheadcoder Multi-Step Forms for Contact Form 7 50K+ · 4.2★ (49)
wp.org #1 1 too high 3 
Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #3 4 
Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 300K+ · 4.8★ (926)
wp.org #7 3 too low 5 
YayCurrency – WooCommerce Multi-Currency Switcher 7K+ · 4.8★ (114)
wp.org #5 ↑1 6 
Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (108)
wp.org #6 ↓1 7 
CP Multi View Events Calendar 900+ · 4.3★ (46)
wp.org #4 3 too high 8 
Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601)
wp.org #11 ↑8 3 too low 9 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #12 3 too low 10 
User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288)
wp.org #10 11 Bit Form – Contact Form, Payment Forms, Multi Step Forms, Calculator & Custom Form Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (259)
wp.org #15 4 too low 12 
Media Library Assistant 70K+ · 4.8★ (202)
wp.org #14 ↑9 2 too low 13 
Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525)
wp.org #17 4 too low 14 
Advanced Product Fields (Product Addons) for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.8★ (284)
wp.org #16 ↓3 2 too low 15 
Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680)
wp.org #20 ↓3 5 too low 16 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #19 ↓4 3 too low 17 
Formidable Forms – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Payment, Calculator Form & Custom Form Builder 300K+ · 4.8★ (1388)
wp.org #23 ↓9 6 too low 18 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #22 4 too low 19 
Multi Page Auto Advance for Gravity Forms 2K+ · 4.3★ (20) thin reviews
wp.org #9 ↓1 10 too high 20 RTMForm – Contact Form, Multi-Step Forms & Form Templates for Elementor 30K+ · 4.3★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #8 12 too high 21 
Quill Forms | Conversational Multi Step Forms, Surveys & quizzes 3K+ · 4.8★ (44)
wp.org #24 ↓6 3 too low 22 
affiliate-toolkit – Multi-Network Affiliate & Amazon Product Display 2K+ · 4.5★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #18 4 too high 23 
Popup builder with Gamification, Multi-Step Popups, Page-Level Targeting, and WooCommerce Triggers 70K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↓2 10 too high 24 
Multi Location Product & Inventory Management for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓5 3 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.