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

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 user”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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

Multi Device Switcher shows at wp.org #12 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 11 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288) wp.org #1 2

User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738) wp.org #2 ↑1 3

Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #3 ↑1 4

User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832) wp.org #4 ↓2 5

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #5 6

Multi Step for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.7★ (77) wp.org #6 ↑6 7

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #17 ↓1 9 too low 9

WP User Manager – Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile Builder & Member Directory 10K+ · 4.7★ (350) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #9 ↓3 10

User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission 20K+ · 4.1★ (537) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too high 11

MultiVendorX – WooCommerce Multivendor Marketplace AI Powered Solutions 2K+ · 4.8★ (432) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #10 ↑8 1 too high 12

Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too low 13

Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps 10K+ · 5.0★ (70) wp.org #14 ↑6 1 too low 14

User Access Manager 10K+ · 4.4★ (112) wp.org #13 1 too high 15

ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 5K+ · 4.6★ (236) not PHP-current wp.org #19 ↑2 4 too low 16

Webheadcoder Multi-Step Forms for Contact Form 7 50K+ · 4.2★ (49) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #11 ↓4 5 too high 17

Multi Step Form 8K+ · 4.3★ (36) wp.org #18 ↑1 1 too low 18 M Multi Device Switcher 10K+ · 4.3★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #12 ↓4 6 too high 19

Multi-Step Checkout for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.5★ (49) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #16 ↓1 3 too high 20

CP Multi View Events Calendar 900+ · 4.3★ (46) not PHP-current wp.org #21 ↑3 1 too low 21

User Login History 10K+ · 4.6★ (29) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #20 ↑2 1 too high 22

WP Multisite User Sync/Unsync 600+ · 4.2★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↑1 23

Greek Multi Tool 1K+ · 4.6★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #23 24

View User Metadata 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #24

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.