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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “rating feedback”

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 “rating feedback”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Feedback Button – Jotform shows at wp.org #9 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 108 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 wp.org
1 Reviews and Rating – Google Reviews 20K+ · 4.9★ (184) wp.org #1 2 Rate My Post – Star Rating Plugin by FeedbackWP 20K+ · 4.7★ (159) wp.org #2 3 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 kk Star Ratings – Rate Post & Collect User Feedbacks 70K+ · 3.9★ (171) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 UserFeedback – Create Interactive Feedback Form, User Surveys, and Polls in Seconds 200K+ · 4.8★ (309) wp.org #7 ↑1 8 Rich Showcase for Google Reviews 100K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #12 ↑5 4 too low 9 Comments – wpDiscuz 60K+ · 4.7★ (581) wp.org #10 ↑2 1 too low 10 Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 Stars Rating 1K+ · 4.7★ (23) wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too high 12 Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (108) wp.org #21 ↑1 9 too low 13 Stars Testimonials — Responsive Reviews & Star Ratings 1K+ · 4.8★ (65) wp.org #17 ↑2 4 too low 14 Gutena Forms – Contact Form, Survey Form, Feedback Form, Booking Form, and Custom Form Builder 20K+ · 4.5★ (11) wp.org #14 15 Helpful – Article Feedback Plugin 600+ · 4.4★ (8) wp.org #15 16 E EWZ-Rating 50+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #20 4 too low 17 WP Ultimate Review 60K+ · 3.4★ (17) wp.org #19 ↑2 2 too low 18 Testimonial Customer Feedback 1K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #13 5 too high 19 Feedback Button – Jotform 600+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #9 ↑1 10 too high 20 SurveyX Builder – Survey, Poll, Quiz & Feedback Form 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 ↑1 3 too low 21 Easy Testimonial Blocks – Testimonial Grid, Customer Reviews & Star Ratings 1K+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Business Reviews – build trust with real customer feedback 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↑2 4 too high 23 Voice Feedback – Audio Feedback Form, Voice Recorder & Voice Testimonials 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too high 24 Star Rating Field For Contact Form 7 800+ · 2.3★ (3) wp.org #16 8 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.