Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “topic poll”

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 “topic poll”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 7 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

topicPolls Pro for bbPress shows at wp.org #2 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.8★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Youzify – BuddyPress Community, User Profile, Social Network & Membership Plugin for WordPress places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 194 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 TS Poll – Survey, Versus Poll, Image Poll, Video Poll 3K+ · 4.7★ (235) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 wpForo Forum 20K+ · 4.7★ (390) wp.org #8 5 too low 4 GD bbPress Tools 1K+ · 3.8★ (24) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too high 5 Invisible Anti-Spam & CAPTCHA — reCAPTCHA Alternative for All Forms 4K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #10 ↑5 5 too low 6 Asgaros Forum 10K+ · 4.7★ (210) wp.org #11 ↑1 5 too low 7 AutomatorWP – No-Code Workflow Automation, Integration & Webhooks Plugin, now with AI 6K+ · 4.8★ (202) wp.org #16 9 too low 8 TotalPoll for Polls and Contests 1K+ · 4.3★ (45) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 forumAttachments for bbPress 6K+ · 4.3★ (26) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Youzify – BuddyPress Community, User Profile, Social Network & Membership Plugin for WordPress 5K+ · 4.8★ (194) wp.org #23 ↓2 13 too low 11 Chartify – WordPress Chart Plugin 3K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #14 ↓4 3 too low 12 FluentCommunity – Ultra-Fast High-Performance Social Network, Community, LMS & Online Courses 8K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #15 ↓2 3 too low 13 Pollify – Feedback Polls, Anonymous Polls, Up/down Voting, NPS Surveys, Export data 60+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #4 ↑1 9 too high 14 topicPolls Pro for bbPress 200+ · 3.8★ (5) wp.org #2 ↑1 12 too high 15 Simple:Press Forum 300+ · 4.2★ (24) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 mosparo Integration 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #9 7 too high 17 Custom Form Builder, Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Surveys, Polls 900+ · 4.7★ (64) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 TotalSurvey for Survey, Quiz and Form 500+ · 4.6★ (16) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 WP Discourse 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 Website Toolbox Forum 70+ · 4.6★ (13) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Riddle Quiz Maker – easily add quizzes with unlimited lead generation to your site 200+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 powerSearch for bbPress 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓1 10 too high 23 forumManager for bbPress 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↑1 10 too high 24 AutoPost AI 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↑2 3 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.