Unlock Protocol
by julien51 · Membership
Also makes 2 other plugins · 70+ installs across the portfolio →
This plugin lets authors add locks to their posts and pages so that only paying visitors can view their content.
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
D 48/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
40+
≈50 estimated
Momentum
+9%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “ethereum”, “membership” and “monetization” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
48 health vs 71 average across 298 Membership plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.3%
of downloads still active
At least 40 of 14.3K lifetime downloads are still running, below its category: the median Membership plugin keeps 0.9%, across 164 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Membership plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
Removal-risk signals
53/100Maintenance and integrity signals that tend to precede a WordPress.org removal. Not an official status, a heads-up to act.
- Long abandoned. No update in 3+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Falling behind WordPress. Tested up to WordPress 5.9.20.
Details
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Under-optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 1187 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 5.9.20; the current branch is 6.8
5.0★ over 4 reviews, smoothed to 4.17★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 1187 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
Get the full rank-higher report →Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
32
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.3
Velocity
places per keyword, 10d
0%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 10d
0.0
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| ethereum your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| membership your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| monetization your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| paywall your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| unlock your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
3 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 0 listed. 3 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “ethereum”, “membership” and “monetization” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,487 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 400 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #21,400 to #22,800, alongside the other plugins at 40+ installs. Plugins with the same install count swap places between wp.org requests, so this is where most of them sit. Checked monthly, last on 21 Oct 2026.
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
Update activity
Downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites.
Not enough installs to measure. This needs at least 100 active sites; below that, a handful of downloads reads as tens of thousands.
Release cadence
No release in a yearHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
0
releases in the last 12 months
3.3y ago
latest release · v4.0.2 · 1 Aug 2023
18
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 100% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “40+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 10 days ago and a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, so the real count is still just under 50.
Install history since 4 Oct 2022
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ jordanbg4.0y ago
The Unlock protocol is just brilliant, it will be good if this plugin gets further development and add more features and integrations with popular page builders like Elementor, WPBakery, and others.. Anyway, it still has 5 stars from me as it is a really simple to use and useful plugin! This topic was modified 3 years, 9 months ago by jordanbg.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Earnie Rhyker4.6y ago
Simple and effective.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ masoninthesis4.8y ago
This plugin is Unlock Protocol packed into an easy to use package. Install it, and your posts are automatically compatible with Web3. Learning to use Unlock’s dashboard and web wallets is the hard part, using this plugin is incredibly easy and straightforward.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ smombartz6.9y ago
Unlock is doing a great job creating an easy way for creators to monetize their content. I have big hopes that the blockchain can solve many of the current challenges and Unlock is definitely making the first steps. The plugin allows for an easy integration and way to create a wpywall for your content. Its crypto centric so ETH and DAI/SAI but they have a credit card option (which you need to email the unlock team about to use) – but its an awesome way to put up a decentralised paywall.
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 6.2.2
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 4 languages, 1 at 90% or more
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
5 of 8 pass · checked 29 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "This plugin lets authors add locks to their posts and pages so that only paying visitors can view their con..."
- ! Has a FAQ No FAQ section.
- ! FAQ asks real questions No FAQ to judge.
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions Gutenberg.
- ✓ Headings and lists 5 headings and 1 list.
- ✓ Enough to quote 4,005 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "monetization", "paywall" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-10-21 50+ → 40+ down after 51 days in tier
- 2026-08-31 60+ → 50+ down after 90 days in tier
- 2026-06-02 70+ → 60+ down after 3 days in tier
- 2026-05-30 60+ → 70+ up after 7 days in tier
- 2026-05-23 70+ → 60+ down after 36 days in tier
- 2026-04-17 60+ → 70+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-04-16 70+ → 60+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2026-04-15 60+ → 70+ up after 2 days in tier
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
-
Ko-fi Button 5K+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags B -
codoc 2K+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags -
SureMembers – Membership & Content Restriction Plugin 2K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags B -
Memberful – Membership Plugin 1K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags A -
Leaky Paywall 600+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags A -
Zlick Paywall 100+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Unlock Protocol into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/unlock-protocol" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Unlock Protocol — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Unlock Protocol: 40+ active installs, 5.0★ (4 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/unlock-protocol
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