wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “package builder”

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 “package builder”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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

Popup builder with Gamification, Multi-Step Popups, Page-Level Targeting, and WooCommerce Triggers shows at wp.org #7 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 70K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

PowerPack Lite for Beaver Builder places #11 on merit, 5.0★ from 243 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.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #1 2

Beaver Builder Page Builder – Drag and Drop Website Builder 100K+ · 4.7★ (394) wp.org #2 3

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #3 4

Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215) wp.org #4 5

Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #5 6

Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #6 7

Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #8 1 too low 8

Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514) wp.org #10 2 too low 9

Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder (UABB) 20K+ · 5.0★ (332) wp.org #9 10

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #11 1 too low 11

PowerPack Lite for Beaver Builder 6K+ · 5.0★ (243) wp.org #15 ↑2 4 too low 12

MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) wp.org #16 ↑2 4 too low 13

Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) wp.org #18 ↑2 5 too low 14

Live Composer – Free WordPress Website Builder 10K+ · 4.4★ (212) wp.org #17 ↑2 3 too low 15

LightStart – Maintenance Mode, Coming Soon and Landing Page Builder 400K+ · 4.3★ (874) wp.org #22 ↑2 7 too low 16

Spectra Blocks – AI Website Builder for the Block Editor 60K+ · 4.6★ (53) wp.org #14 ↓2 2 too high 17

Easy Form Builder by WhiteStudio – Drag & Drop Form Builder 1K+ · 5.0★ (70) wp.org #19 ↑2 2 too low 18

ShopEngine – All-in-One Elementor WooCommerce Builder with eCommerce Templates & Woo Widgets 100K+ · 4.6★ (212) wp.org #24 6 too low 19

Popup builder with Gamification, Multi-Step Popups, Page-Level Targeting, and WooCommerce Triggers 70K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #7 12 too high 20

SureForms – Contact Form Builder, AI Forms, Payment Form, Survey & Quiz 500K+ · 4.8★ (102) wp.org #20 ↓4 21

Schema Package – Structured Data & Rich Snippets Tool for SEO 200+ · 4.8★ (20) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↑1 22

Lead Form Builder & Contact Form 8K+ · 4.3★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↑1 9 too high 23

BlockStrap Page Builder – Bootstrap Blocks 2K+ · 4.5★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #12 ↑1 11 too high 24

TableKit – WordPress Table Builder for Data Tables, WooCommerce Product Tables & Post Tables 3K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #23 1 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.