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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “access management”

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 “access management”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 6 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

WPC Badge Management for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #11 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Groups – Memberships and Access Control places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 382 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #1 2 WP Data Access – App Builder for Tables, Forms, Dashboards, Charts & Maps 10K+ · 4.9★ (88) wp.org #2 3 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #5 ↑2 2 too low 4 User Access Manager 10K+ · 4.4★ (112) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Access Governance for WordPress (aka AAM) 100K+ · 4.2★ (420) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #8 ↑3 2 too low 7 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288) wp.org #10 ↑5 2 too low 9 Groups – Memberships and Access Control 10K+ · 4.8★ (382) wp.org #15 ↑1 6 too low 10 EventPrime – Events Calendar, Bookings, Tickets & AI 7K+ · 4.4★ (85) wp.org #6 ↓1 4 too high 11 MainWP Dashboard: Self-hosted WordPress Management for Agencies 20K+ · 4.9★ (2354) wp.org #17 ↑7 6 too low 12 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #7 ↑3 5 too high 13 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #13 ↓5 1 too high 15 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #19 3 too low 17 PublishPress Permissions: Access Control, Content Permissions, User Access 10K+ · 4.3★ (66) wp.org #18 ↑3 1 too low 18 Donation Platform for WooCommerce: Fundraising & Donation Management 7K+ · 4.9★ (99) wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19 Prevent Files / Folders Access 1K+ · 4.6★ (35) wp.org #16 ↑1 3 too high 20 Admin Management Xtended 5K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #9 11 too high 21 Event Genius – Event Calendar, Event Registration, and Attendee Management 600+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too high 22 The School Management – Education & Learning ERP 700+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #22 ↓2 23 WPC Badge Management for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #11 ↑3 12 too high 24 Glow: maintenance & support management for agencies 800+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 4 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.