wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “multi level select”

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 level select”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 8 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

affiliate-toolkit – Multi-Network Affiliate & Amazon Product Display shows at wp.org #15 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 22 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #3 2 too low 2

Popup builder with Gamification, Multi-Step Popups, Page-Level Targeting, and WooCommerce Triggers 70K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #1 1 too high 3

Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

CP Multi View Events Calendar 900+ · 4.3★ (46) not PHP-current wp.org #2 2 too high 5

Bit Form – Contact Form, Payment Forms, Multi Step Forms, Calculator & Custom Form Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (259) wp.org #7 ↑9 2 too low 6

Click to Chat – HoliThemes 600K+ · 4.8★ (131) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too high 7

FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) not PHP-current wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8

The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too low 9

WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #11 ↑3 2 too low 10

MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 ↓1 4 too high 11

FileBird – WordPress Media Library Folders & File Manager 200K+ · 4.7★ (1125) wp.org #14 ↑5 3 too low 12

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #13 ↑2 1 too low 13

Robo Gallery – Photo & Image Slider 40K+ · 4.3★ (406) wp.org #12 ↓2 1 too high 14

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #22 ↑1 8 too low 15

Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #10 ↑1 5 too high 16

Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #21 ↓1 5 too low 17

Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 1M+ · 4.9★ (4755) wp.org #23 ↓1 6 too low 18

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #24 ↓15 6 too low 19

Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too low 20

Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 300K+ · 4.8★ (926) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #17 ↑7 3 too high 21

ReviewX – Multi-Criteria Reviews for WooCommerce with Google Reviews & Schema 6K+ · 4.5★ (85) heavy footprint wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too high 22

Wallet for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.7★ (188) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #19 ↑2 3 too high 23

affiliate-toolkit – Multi-Network Affiliate & Amazon Product Display 2K+ · 4.5★ (22) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓3 8 too high 24

Multi Location Product & Inventory Management for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (6) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓3 8 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.