Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “select 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 “select fields”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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.

A

Ranked above its merit

Advanced Custom Fields: Image Size Select Field shows at wp.org #10 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 474 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 Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #1 2 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #2 3 Flexible Checkout Fields for WooCommerce – WooCommerce Checkout Manager 80K+ · 4.7★ (296) wp.org #3 4 Conditional Fields for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.8★ (166) wp.org #4 5 Advanced Product Fields (Product Addons) for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.8★ (284) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (973) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Secure Custom Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (69) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Table Field Add-on for ACF and SCF 50K+ · 4.9★ (60) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Checkout Field Editor (Checkout Manager) for WooCommerce 400K+ · 4.9★ (1056) wp.org #16 ↓4 7 too low 10 Advanced Custom Fields: Extended 100K+ · 4.8★ (132) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too low 11 Advanced Custom Fields: Font Awesome Field 90K+ · 4.9★ (36) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (474) wp.org #21 ↓2 9 too low 13 Flexible Product Fields (WooCommerce Product Addons) – WooCommerce Product Page Editor 10K+ · 4.5★ (106) wp.org #15 ↑1 2 too low 14 Checkout Field Manager (Checkout Manager) for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.5★ (784) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 WC Fields Factory 7K+ · 4.3★ (168) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 Custom Post Types and Custom Fields creator – WCK 10K+ · 4.7★ (97) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 S Smart Custom Fields 50K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #14 ↑1 3 too high 18 Meta Field Block – Display Custom Fields for ACF, Meta Box and More 10K+ · 5.0★ (57) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 Conditional Fields for Elementor Form – Apply Conditional Logic 10K+ · 4.7★ (32) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 RY City Select for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (9) wp.org #11 9 too high 21 Admin Columns for ACF Fields 9K+ · 4.9★ (20) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Product Input Fields for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.0★ (17) wp.org #13 ↑1 9 too high 23 Profile Extra Fields by BestWebSoft 1K+ · 4.6★ (15) wp.org #19 ↑2 4 too high 24 A Advanced Custom Fields: Image Size Select Field 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 14 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.