wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “pie”

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 “pie”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 2 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

Pie Forms — Drag & Drop Form Builder shows at wp.org #5 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Data Tables Generator by Supsystic – Excel-like, WooCommerce & Pricing Tables places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 497 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Pie Register – User Registration, Profiles & Content Restriction 1K+ · 4.2★ (222) wp.org #1 2

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #3 1 too low 3

Pie Calendar – Events Calendar Made Simple 1K+ · 4.7★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #2 1 too high 4

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #6 2 too low 5

Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) not PHP-current wp.org #7 2 too low 6

Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #10 4 too low 7

wpDataTables – WordPress Data Table, Dynamic Tables & Table Charts Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (449) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too low 8

Visualizer – Tables & Charts Manager with Built-in AI Generator 20K+ · 4.4★ (225) not PHP-current wp.org #8 ↑1 9

Chart Block – Visualize Data with Bar, Line, Pie Charts 1K+ · 4.8★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #4 5 too high 10

Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #15 ↑2 5 too low 11

Chartify – WordPress Chart Plugin 3K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too high 12

Data Tables Generator by Supsystic – Excel-like, WooCommerce & Pricing Tables 10K+ · 4.7★ (497) wp.org #21 9 too low 13

HappyAddons for Elementor – 160 Elementor Widgets, GSAP Animations & Templates 400K+ · 4.8★ (489) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #13 ↑1 14

M Chart 3K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #19 ↓1 5 too low 15

Jeg Kit for Elementor – Powerful Addons for Elementor, Widgets & Templates for WordPress 300K+ · 3.8★ (79) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too high 16

Graphina – Charts and Graphs For Elementor 9K+ · 4.1★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #14 2 too high 17

Extensive VC Addons for WPBakery Page Builder 4K+ · 4.7★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #18 1 too low 18

Pie Forms — Drag & Drop Form Builder 100+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #5 13 too high 19

Web and WooCommerce Addons for WPBakery Builder 1K+ · 4.4★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #17 2 too high 20

Qi Blocks 60K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #22 2 too low 21

Media Library File Size 6K+ · 4.6★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓3 5 too high 22

iChart – Easy Charts and Graphs 300+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓1 2 too low 23

wpDataTables integration for Forminator Forms 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24

Advanced Chart for Elementor 90+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓3 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.