Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “proposal”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 3 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

Electronic Signature Add-on for Fluent Forms shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps places #11 on merit, 5.0★ from 70 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #1 2 Jetpack CRM – Clients, Leads, Invoices, Billing, Email Marketing, & Automation 30K+ · 4.3★ (152) wp.org #2 3 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 NP Quote Request for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.6★ (87) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Password Protected 300K+ · 4.4★ (142) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form, Quiz, Survey & Custom Form Builder with AI 90K+ · 4.9★ (375) wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too low 8 Client Portal : SuiteDash Direct Login 1K+ · 4.9★ (117) wp.org #16 ↓2 8 too low 9 Order Export & Order Import for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.7★ (337) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too low 10 YITH Request a Quote for WooCommerce 10K+ · 3.3★ (66) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps 10K+ · 5.0★ (70) wp.org #24 13 too low 12 Signature Add-On for Gravity Forms 1K+ · 3.9★ (21) wp.org #11 ↓2 1 too high 13 EU Order Withdrawal Button for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.6★ (7) wp.org #6 7 too high 14 WP Forms Signature Contract Add-On 800+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 DoubleScale CRM | All-in-One CRM – Sales, Multi-Channel Marketing, Newsletter, Booking, Helpdesk, Automation, MCP & More 80+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too low 16 Shelf Planner Inventory Management for WooCommerce 100+ · 4.7★ (16) wp.org #19 ↓2 3 too low 17 Ninja Forms Signature Contract Add-On 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too high 18 LLMs.txt Curator 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 ↓3 3 too low 19 WPC Product Size Chart for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 Cloodo WP Workplace – CRM & Project Management for Services Business 100+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #23 ↓3 3 too low 21 HTML Page Publisher 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 Electronic Signature Add-on for Fluent Forms 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 12 too high 23 Livebeep – Chatbot, Live Chat, CRM & Digital Marketing 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓3 1 too high 24 Wpbingo AI Commander for WooCommerce 500+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↑1 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.