wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “surveys”

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 “surveys”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Crowdsignal Dashboard – Polls, Surveys & more shows at wp.org #7 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 200K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.7★ average from 34 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Quiz Maker by AYS places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 601 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #1 2

Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #2 3

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #3 1 too high 5

Quiz and Survey Master (QSM) – Quiz Maker & Survey Maker 40K+ · 4.7★ (1282) wp.org #5 ↑2 6

UserFeedback – Create Interactive Feedback Form, User Surveys, and Polls in Seconds 200K+ · 4.8★ (309) wp.org #6 7

Formidable Forms – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Payment, Calculator Form & Custom Form Builder 300K+ · 4.8★ (1387) wp.org #9 ↑2 2 too low 8

Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601) wp.org #13 ↑5 5 too low 9

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #14 ↓2 5 too low 10

Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form, Quiz, Survey & Custom Form Builder with AI 90K+ · 4.9★ (375) heavy footprint wp.org #12 ↑2 2 too low 11

MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #8 ↑2 3 too high 12

SureForms – Contact Form Builder, AI Forms, Payment Form, Survey & Quiz 500K+ · 4.8★ (102) wp.org #10 ↓5 2 too high 13

Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #15 2 too low 14

Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons 30K+ · 5.0★ (775) wp.org #20 ↑3 6 too low 15

Happyforms – Form Builder for WordPress: Drag & Drop Contact Forms, Surveys, Payments & Multipurpose Forms 20K+ · 4.4★ (433) wp.org #16 ↓3 1 too low 16

Survey Maker by AYS 5K+ · 4.8★ (79) wp.org #11 ↓2 5 too high 17

Quiz Maker, Poll Maker & Survey Maker by Opinion Stage 6K+ · 4.4★ (277) wp.org #17 ↓1 18

Brave – Create Popup, Optins, Lead Generation, Survey, Sticky Elements & Interactive Content 20K+ · 4.8★ (209) wp.org #24 6 too low 19

Quill Forms | Conversational Multi Step Forms, Surveys & quizzes 3K+ · 4.8★ (44) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #19 20

Crowdsignal Dashboard – Polls, Surveys & more 200K+ · 2.7★ (34) wp.org #7 ↑1 13 too high 21

Gutena Forms – Contact Form, Survey Form, Feedback Form, Booking Form, and Custom Form Builder 20K+ · 4.5★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓1 22

SurveyX Builder – Survey, Poll, Quiz & Feedback Form 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too high 23

Crowdsignal Forms 200K+ · 5.0★ (3) host-installed base thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓1 24

Survey Form Block 400+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓1 2 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.