wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “pre fill”
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 “pre fill”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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
Spotrebiteľské práva pre WooCommerce shows at wp.org #5 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 300+ 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
Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution places #12 on merit, 4.4★ from 590 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #1 2 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #2 3 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #3 4 
Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.7★ (1072)
wp.org #8 4 too low 5 
Click to Chat – HoliThemes 600K+ · 4.8★ (131)
wp.org #7 2 too low 6 
QuickWebP – WebP & AVIF Image Optimizer, Compression & SEO for WordPress 8K+ · 4.8★ (20) thin reviews
wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too high 7 
URL Params 8K+ · 5.0★ (37)
wp.org #6 1 too high 8 
Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (108)
wp.org #9 1 too low 9 
Payment Plugins for PayPal WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (127)
wp.org #11 ↑5 2 too low 10 
Geolocation IP Detection 20K+ · 4.7★ (59)
wp.org #10 11 
MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509)
wp.org #15 4 too low 12 Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (590)
wp.org #18 ↓1 6 too low 13 
Download Monitor 80K+ · 4.5★ (525)
wp.org #19 ↑1 6 too low 14 
Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244)
wp.org #24 10 too low 15 
Watu Quiz 3K+ · 4.7★ (137)
wp.org #16 ↑2 1 too low 16 
Post My CF7 Form 2K+ · 4.8★ (48)
wp.org #13 3 too high 17 
Campos Checkout Brasileiro para WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (45)
wp.org #14 3 too high 18 
Smart Grid-Layout Design for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.5★ (72)
wp.org #22 4 too low 19 
Secure Gateway for Authorize.net and WooCommerce by Pledged Plugins 10K+ · 4.9★ (34)
wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too low 20 
Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer 400K+ · 4.5★ (81)
wp.org #23 ↓2 3 too low 21 
WP-EMail 1K+ · 4.5★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↑2 4 too high 22 Spotrebiteľské práva pre WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #5 ↓1 17 too high 23 
HTML Editor for Contact Form 7 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #12 11 too high 24 
Integrate Razorpay for Contact Form 7 500+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↑3 4 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.