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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “scout form”

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 “scout form”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

INI Scout shows at wp.org #9 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 326 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #1 2 Advanced Form Integration — Connect Forms to 300+ Apps 9K+ · 4.8★ (91) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 BetterDocs – AI Documentation, Knowledge Base, MCP Server, Docs, Wikis, FAQ & Chatbot 30K+ · 4.8★ (515) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 HubSpot All-In-One Marketing – Forms, Popups, Live Chat 200K+ · 4.3★ (207) wp.org #4 5 SupportCandy – AI Customer Support Ticket System & Live Chatbot Agent 10K+ · 4.9★ (289) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Fluent Support – Helpdesk & Customer Support Ticket System 10K+ · 4.6★ (69) wp.org #6 7 Uncanny Automator – AI + Automation for WordPress | AI Agent, AI Page Builder, Free AI Usage Included 40K+ · 4.9★ (157) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Help Scout 300+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #2 6 too high 9 CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes 200K+ · 4.7★ (326) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 ERP: Complete HR, Accounting & CRM Suite Built for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.4★ (149) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 ThriveDesk – Live Chat, AI Chatbot, Helpdesk & Customer Support Ticket System 100+ · 4.5★ (14) wp.org #11 12 Membership Plugin – Kadence Memberships 8K+ · 3.1★ (100) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 Chatbot for WordPress by Collect.chat ⚡️ 6K+ · 4.4★ (38) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 CRM Perks – WordPress HelpDesk Integration – Zendesk, Freshdesk, HelpScout 40+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #20 6 too low 15 Limb AI Chatbot 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 INI Scout 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 7 too high 17 Scout — AI Chatbot & Live Chat 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 Inspect Gravity Forms 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 C Cookie Scout — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 S Server Scout — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Scout Image Studio — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 22 Scout Reimbursement Pro — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 23 Stock Scout – Back in Stock Alerts for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 VLink Broken Links Scout — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24

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.