wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “page 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 “page builder”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 4 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
BlockStrap Page Builder – Bootstrap Blocks shows at wp.org #15 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 738 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #1 2 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #2 3 
Beaver Builder Page Builder – Drag and Drop Website Builder 100K+ · 4.7★ (394)
wp.org #3 4 
Page Builder by SiteOrigin 400K+ · 4.8★ (1005)
wp.org #4 5 
Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode 600K+ · 4.9★ (4699)
wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 
Colibri Page Builder 80K+ · 4.4★ (80)
wp.org #5 1 too high 7 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too low 8 
Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) heavy footprint
wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too high 9 User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #16 ↑1 7 too low 10 
LightStart – Maintenance Mode, Coming Soon and Landing Page Builder 400K+ · 4.3★ (874)
wp.org #13 ↑3 3 too low 11 
Landing Page Builder – Coming Soon page, Maintenance Mode, Lead Page, WordPress Landing Pages 8K+ · 4.6★ (202)
wp.org #12 1 too low 12 
Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer 500K+ · 4.5★ (81)
wp.org #9 3 too high 13 
Post and Page Builder by BoldGrid – Visual Drag and Drop Editor 50K+ · 4.7★ (140)
wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too low 14 
Greenshift – animation and page builder blocks 70K+ · 4.8★ (107) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 6 too high 15 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #23 ↓7 8 too low 16 
Brizy – Page Builder 60K+ · 4.7★ (972) not PHP-current
wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too low 17 
Gutenverse – WordPress Blocks, Page Builder & Site Editor 20K+ · 4.9★ (190) heavy footprint
wp.org #17 ↓3 18 
Bold Page Builder 40K+ · 3.6★ (66)
wp.org #10 ↑1 8 too high 19 
Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216) heavy footprint
wp.org #20 1 too low 20 
Duplicate Page 3M+ · 4.8★ (466)
wp.org #22 ↓2 2 too low 21 
Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder 9K+ · 4.8★ (90) heavy footprint
wp.org #24 3 too low 22 
Page Builder: Pagelayer – Drag and Drop website builder 400K+ · 3.9★ (104)
wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too high 23 
Kubio AI Page Builder 80K+ · 4.4★ (79) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 BlockStrap Page Builder – Bootstrap Blocks 2K+ · 4.5★ (4) heavy footprint 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.