wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “sign”
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 “sign”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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
MailerLite – Signup forms (official) shows at wp.org #11 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 100K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.9★ average from 41 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 2144 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012)
wp.org #1 2 
SAML Single Sign On – SSO Login 10K+ · 4.9★ (402)
wp.org #2 3 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
OAuth Single Sign On – SSO (OAuth Client) 6K+ · 4.9★ (327)
wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 
Rich Showcase for Google Reviews 100K+ · 4.9★ (1623)
wp.org #9 ↑5 4 too low 6 
MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress 1M+ · 4.8★ (1497)
wp.org #7 1 too low 7 
WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209)
wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too low 8 
Sign-up Sheets 1K+ · 4.8★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #3 5 too high 9 
TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #14 ↓2 5 too low 10 
Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397)
wp.org #13 ↑4 3 too low 11 
One Tap Google Sign in 800+ · 4.7★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #5 ↑1 6 too high 12 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #19 ↓4 7 too low 13 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #20 7 too low 14 
SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356)
wp.org #16 2 too low 15 
Volunteer Sign Up Sheets 1K+ · 4.9★ (42)
wp.org #12 ↓2 3 too high 16 
Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↑7 1 too high 17 
Newsletter Sign-Up for CleverReach 2K+ · 3.3★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #8 9 too high 18 
FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35)
wp.org #18 ↓2 19 
morkva UA Shipping – Nova Poshta, Ukrposhta, Rozetka, Nova Global 1K+ · 4.9★ (29)
wp.org #24 5 too low 20 
Digital Signature For Contact Form 7 5K+ · 4.9★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓3 2 too low 21 MailerLite – Signup forms (official) 100K+ · 2.9★ (41) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 10 too high 22 
Signature field for Elementor Forms 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↓4 5 too high 23 
AWeber – Free Sign Up Form and Landing Page Builder Plugin for Lead Generation and Email Newsletter Growth 8K+ · 2.6★ (25) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #21 ↓3 2 too high 24 
Sign Customiser 30+ · 5.0★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↑1 1 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.