wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “registrations”
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 “registrations”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 5 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
Event Genius – Event Calendar, Event Registration, and Attendee Management shows at wp.org #10 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 17 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 1668 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.
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #1 2 
Registrations for the Events Calendar – Event Registration Plugin 7K+ · 5.0★ (103)
wp.org #2 3 
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #7 ↑2 1 too low 7 
Event Tickets and Registration 90K+ · 3.5★ (236) heavy footprint
wp.org #3 4 too high 8 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520)
wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too low 9 
WP Event Manager – Events Calendar, Registrations, Sell Tickets with WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.0★ (249)
wp.org #8 1 too high 10 
User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832)
wp.org #14 ↑1 4 too low 11 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668)
wp.org #16 ↑3 5 too low 12 
Eventin – Events Calendar, Tickets, Registration, Booking & WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (413) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too high 13 
Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) not PHP-current
wp.org #13 ↑1 14 
RegistrationMagic – Custom Registration Forms, User Registration, Payment, and User Login 7K+ · 4.5★ (459)
wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too low 15 
Event Booking Manager for WooCommerce – Sell Tickets, Event Registration, RSVP & Event Calendar 7K+ · 4.5★ (167) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #9 ↓2 6 too high 16 
UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP 20K+ · 4.7★ (183)
wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too low 17 
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) not PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↓2 2 too high 18 
Stop Spammers Classic 20K+ · 4.4★ (243)
wp.org #21 ↑1 3 too low 19 Event Genius – Event Calendar, Event Registration, and Attendee Management 600+ · 4.8★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #10 9 too high 20 
Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276)
wp.org #19 1 too high 21 
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too high 22 
Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) not PHP-current
wp.org #23 1 too low 23 
Users Registration Date – Sortable Users Column 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 
Registration Form for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓2 2 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.