wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “unique submissions”
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 “unique submissions”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 5 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
Duplicate Killer – Prevent Duplicate Form Submissions shows at wp.org #6 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 973 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.
Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (107)
wp.org #1 ↑2 2 
Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397)
wp.org #2 ↓1 3 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #3 ↓1 4 
WP Armour – Honeypot Anti Spam 400K+ · 5.0★ (1471)
wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too low 5 
User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission 20K+ · 4.1★ (537) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #4 ↑4 1 too high 6 
Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) not PHP-current
wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #9 2 too low 8 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #10 2 too low 9 Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (973)
wp.org #16 ↓4 7 too low 10 
Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167)
wp.org #12 ↑1 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 ↓1 3 too high 12 
Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612)
wp.org #15 3 too low 13 
Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591)
wp.org #18 ↓4 5 too low 14 
Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539)
wp.org #22 ↓2 8 too low 15 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #13 ↑8 2 too high 16 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #21 ↓2 5 too low 17 
hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88)
wp.org #14 3 too high 18 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current
wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too low 19 
WS Form LITE – Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (322)
wp.org #24 5 too low 20 
Database Addon For WPForms ( wpforms entries ) – WPFormsDB 20K+ · 5.0★ (131)
wp.org #20 ↓2 21 
CF7 Apps – Addons for Contact Form 7 (Honeypot, Database, Redirection, Webhook, etc.) 300K+ · 3.8★ (135) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 10 too high 22 Duplicate Killer – Prevent Duplicate Form Submissions 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #6 ↓1 16 too high 23 
GSheetConnector – Forminator Google Sheets Connector, Export Forminator Submissions 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too high 24 
Unique Submissions for Elementor Forms 300+ · 3.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓1 1 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.