wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “subscribe bar”
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 “subscribe bar”, 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
Email Subscription Popup — Newsletter & GDPR Consent shows at wp.org #3 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.8★ average from 11 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes places #6 on merit, 4.7★ from 326 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
MC4WP: Mailchimp Top Bar – Email Subscribe Notification Bar 6K+ · 4.6★ (31) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #1 2 
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #4 ↑2 2 too low 3 
MailChimp Subscribe Form, Optin Builder, PopUp Builder, Form Builder 2K+ · 4.0★ (65) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress 1M+ · 4.8★ (1497)
wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 
The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461)
wp.org #7 2 too low 6 CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes 200K+ · 4.7★ (326)
wp.org #10 ↑4 4 too low 7 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #8 1 too low 8 
Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270)
wp.org #11 3 too low 9 
Free Shipping Label and Progress Bar for WooCommerce 5K+ · 5.0★ (43) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #5 ↓2 4 too high 10 
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 1 too high 11 
UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP 20K+ · 4.7★ (183)
wp.org #12 ↓2 1 too low 12 Email Subscription Popup — Newsletter & GDPR Consent 1K+ · 3.8★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #3 ↑1 9 too high 13 
Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491)
wp.org #18 5 too low 14 
Disable Admin Notices – Hide Dashboard Notifications 100K+ · 4.7★ (367)
wp.org #21 ↓2 7 too low 15 
Coming soon and Maintenance mode 8K+ · 4.2★ (83)
wp.org #15 ↓3 16 
Sticky Header Effects for Elementor 300K+ · 4.5★ (69)
wp.org #17 1 too low 17 
MailOptin – Popup, Optin Forms & Email Newsletters for Mailchimp, HubSpot, AWeber Etc. 10K+ · 4.8★ (438) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #19 ↓6 2 too low 18 
HTML5 Audio Player – The Ultimate No-Code Podcast, MP3 & Audio Player 10K+ · 4.6★ (169) not PHP-current
wp.org #23 ↓1 5 too low 19 
MailMunch – Grow your Email List 5K+ · 4.7★ (241) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #22 ↓1 3 too low 20 
ProfilePress – Paid Membership, Online Courses (LMS), Ecommerce, User Registration & Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content 100K+ · 3.1★ (938) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #16 ↑2 4 too high 21 
Coupzy Coupon Box for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.6★ (37) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #24 ↓1 3 too low 22 
Progress Bars 500+ · 3.3★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↓4 9 too high 23 
NoticePulse — Notification Bar, Announcement Bar & Cookie Notice 50+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↑1 9 too high 24 
Subscribe Button Bar for YouTube Embed Videos 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #20 4 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.