wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “steps”
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 “steps”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 6 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
CF7 Mate – Contact Form 7 Styler, Multi-Step Forms & Conditional Logic shows at wp.org #10 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.9★ average from 46 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 2528 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.
Multi Step for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.7★ (77)
wp.org #1 ↑2 2 
TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625)
wp.org #2 ↓1 3 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220)
wp.org #6 ↑2 2 too low 5 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #11 ↓1 6 too low 6 
Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (107)
wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 
Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869)
wp.org #12 ↑4 5 too low 8 
Webheadcoder Multi-Step Forms for Contact Form 7 50K+ · 4.2★ (49) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #3 ↓1 5 too high 9 
Multi-Step Checkout for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.5★ (49) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #5 ↓1 4 too high 10 
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #15 ↓4 5 too low 11 
Bit Form – Contact Form, Payment Forms, Multi Step Forms, Calculator & Custom Form Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (259)
wp.org #19 ↑4 8 too low 12 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528)
wp.org #21 ↑3 9 too low 13 
Min Max Step Quantity Limits Manager for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.9★ (51) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 ↓1 5 too high 14 
Min Max Control – Min Max Quantity & Step Control for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (79) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 ↑8 5 too high 15 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 ↓5 3 too low 16 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #24 ↓4 8 too low 17 
Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154)
wp.org #22 ↓4 5 too low 18 
Multi Step Form 8K+ · 4.3★ (36)
wp.org #13 ↓4 5 too high 19 
CartFlows – Funnel Builder & Checkout Plugin for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.8★ (517) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #23 ↓2 4 too low 20 CF7 Mate – Contact Form 7 Styler, Multi-Step Forms & Conditional Logic 20K+ · 3.9★ (46) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #10 10 too high 21 
12 Step Meeting List 900+ · 5.0★ (28)
wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too high 22 
Min Max Quantities – Set Minimum/Maximum Quantity & Price Limits with Step Control for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (60) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #17 ↓2 5 too high 23 
RTMForm – Contact Form, Multi-Step Forms & Form Templates for Elementor 30K+ · 4.3★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓2 9 too high 24 
Popup builder with Gamification, Multi-Step Popups, Page-Level Targeting, and WooCommerce Triggers 70K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓2 8 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.