wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “secure custom fields”

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 “secure custom fields”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 4 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

Secure MCP Server for Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI Agents shows at wp.org #7 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 8K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 8869 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 signals wp.org

Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) heavy footprint wp.org #1 ↑1 2

Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #3 1 too low 3

Secure Custom Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (69) heavy footprint wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too high 4

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5

Table Field Add-on for ACF and SCF 50K+ · 4.9★ (60) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too high 6

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint wp.org #6 ↑1 7

Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (973) wp.org #10 ↓4 3 too low 8

Advanced Product Fields (Product Addons) for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.8★ (284) wp.org #8 9

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #16 ↓3 7 too low 10

WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too low 11

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #24 13 too low 12

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #15 3 too low 13

Admin Custom Login 10K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #19 ↑1 6 too low 14

Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking 20K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #12 2 too high 15

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #23 8 too low 16

Secure Passkeys 2K+ · 4.8★ (19) thin reviews wp.org #9 7 too high 17

Meta Field Block – Display Custom Fields for ACF, Meta Box and More 10K+ · 5.0★ (57) not PHP-current wp.org #13 ↑3 4 too high 18

Secure MCP Server for Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI Agents 8K+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #7 ↑4 11 too high 19

MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too high 20

MB Custom Post Types & Custom Taxonomies 10K+ · 4.7★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #14 6 too high 21

Blocks for ACF Fields — Display Custom Fields in the Block Editor 2K+ · 4.9★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too high 22

Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #22 23

Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↑1 6 too high 24

WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #21 3 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.