wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “submit”
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 “submit”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 2 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
Download PDF After Submit Form shows at wp.org #5 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.2★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 807 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End 10K+ · 4.8★ (913)
wp.org #1 2 
PublishPress Revisions: Duplicate Posts, Submit, Approve and Schedule Content Changes 10K+ · 4.6★ (66)
wp.org #2 3 
Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) not PHP-current
wp.org #3 4 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too low 5 
Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356)
wp.org #7 ↑5 1 too low 7 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too low 8 
Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397)
wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too low 9 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #16 ↓2 7 too low 10 
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) not PHP-current
wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too low 11 
Better Search Replace 1M+ · 4.3★ (546)
wp.org #13 2 too low 12 
Yoast Duplicate Post 3M+ · 4.7★ (538) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too high 13 
Search Regex 100K+ · 4.7★ (101)
wp.org #15 ↑1 2 too low 14 
Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (107)
wp.org #19 5 too low 15 
My Calendar – Accessible Event Manager 20K+ · 4.7★ (159)
wp.org #20 5 too low 16 
Easy Post Submission – Frontend Posting, Guest Publishing & Submit Content for WordPress 4K+ · 4.5★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #4 12 too high 17 
Redux Framework 900K+ · 4.4★ (273)
wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too low 18 
NP Quote Request for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.6★ (87)
wp.org #24 6 too low 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 #23 4 too low 20 Download PDF After Submit Form 400+ · 3.2★ (6) thin reviewslow rating, top placement
wp.org #5 15 too high 21 
Zhanzhangb Indexing Submission for Baidu 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↓1 11 too high 22 
IndexNow Plugin 100K+ · 3.2★ (47)
wp.org #22 ↓1 23 
多合一搜索自动推送管理插件-支持Baidu/Google/Bing/IndexNow/Yandex/头条 2K+ · 2.6★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too high 24 
Integration for Airtable – Import Airtable to WordPress & Submit Forms to Airtable 70+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↑1 7 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.