wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “user fields”
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 “user fields”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20.
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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Table Field Add-on for ACF and SCF shows at wp.org #9 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 50K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.9★ average from 60 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440)
wp.org #1 2 
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 
User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288)
wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too high 4 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #4 ↓2 5 
User Switching 200K+ · 4.9★ (238)
wp.org #5 6 
Flexible Checkout Fields for WooCommerce – WooCommerce Checkout Manager 80K+ · 4.7★ (296)
wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 
User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832)
wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too low 8 
Secure Custom Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (69)
wp.org #6 ↑8 2 too high 9 
Conditional Fields for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.8★ (166)
wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too high 10 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #11 ↓3 1 too low 11 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #13 ↓3 2 too low 12 
Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (973)
wp.org #14 ↓2 2 too low 13 
WP User Manager – Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile Builder & Member Directory 10K+ · 4.7★ (350)
wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too high 14 Table Field Add-on for ACF and SCF 50K+ · 4.9★ (60)
wp.org #9 5 too high 15 
User Menus – Nav Menu Visibility 80K+ · 5.0★ (1281)
wp.org #20 ↓2 5 too low 16 
Advanced Product Fields (Product Addons) for WooCommerce 50K+ · 4.8★ (284)
wp.org #15 1 too high 17 
User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission 20K+ · 4.1★ (537)
wp.org #16 1 too high 18 
User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End 10K+ · 4.8★ (913)
wp.org #24 6 too low 19 
Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259)
wp.org #22 ↓1 3 too low 20 
Login as User: See the Site as Any User 30K+ · 4.8★ (41)
wp.org #17 ↑3 3 too high 21 
Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps 10K+ · 5.0★ (70)
wp.org #23 ↓1 2 too low 22 
New User Approve 20K+ · 4.3★ (131)
wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too high 23 
Advanced Custom Fields: Font Awesome Field 90K+ · 4.9★ (36)
wp.org #18 ↓2 5 too high 24 
One User Avatar | User Profile Picture 100K+ · 4.7★ (41)
wp.org #19 ↓2 5 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.