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

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 “save”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 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

HD Quiz – Save Results Light shows at wp.org #6 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 CartBounty – Save and recover abandoned carts for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #1 2 GSheetConnector – CF7 Google Sheets Connector & Save CF7 Entries to Database 40K+ · 4.4★ (129) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #9 ↓1 6 too low 4 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #11 7 too low 5 Save & Go 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 Form Vibes – Save Contact Form 7 & Elementor Form Entries to Database 10K+ · 4.9★ (132) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #16 ↓1 9 too low 8 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915) wp.org #14 ↓2 6 too low 9 Save as PDF Plugin by PDFCrowd 1K+ · 4.1★ (27) wp.org #5 4 too high 10 Database Addon for Contact Form 7 – CFDB7 600K+ · 5.0★ (1875) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #12 ↓5 1 too low 12 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #24 ↓1 11 too low 14 FormsDB – Save Elementor Forms to Google Sheets & Post Type 20K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #7 ↓1 7 too high 15 PNG to JPG 10K+ · 4.7★ (40) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 You Save for Woocommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 ↑10 12 too high 17 Redirection for Contact Form 7 200K+ · 4.7★ (275) wp.org #23 6 too low 18 GSheetConnector – WPForms Google Sheets Connector, Save WPForms Lite & PRO Entries to Database & Sheets 7K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #15 ↑1 3 too high 19 WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 HD Quiz – Save Results Light 1K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #6 ↓2 14 too high 21 WPSyncSheets For Contact Form 7 – CF7 Google Sheets Connector & Save to Database 600+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 WPC Save For Later for WooCommerce 300+ · 4.0★ (5) wp.org #8 ↑1 14 too high 23 Flexible Wishlist for WooCommerce – Ecommerce Wishlist & Save for later 700+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 Save CF7 Entry 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓2 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.