wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “add password content”
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 “add password content”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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
Password Policy Manager shows at wp.org #8 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 6K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.4★ average from 14 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Ivory Search – WordPress Search Plugin places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 1,562 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
How this rank is calculated
Each plugin's merit score multiplies these inputs together: how recently it was updated, how current its "tested up to" WordPress version is, its install base (log scale, capped at 10 million), its support thread resolution rate, and a rating score. The rating score weights the star average by review volume against a sitewide prior, then scales it by the lower bound of the share of 4 and 5 star reviews. A plugin with 3.7 stars from tens of thousands of reviews can still outscore a 4.9 with a few dozen, because the small sample carries less certainty.
A health factor between 0.4 and 1.15 then adjusts that score for what wp.org's search can't see: PHP fatals or failed activations on a test install, PHP and WordPress compatibility, memory and page-speed footprint, suspicious review patterns, closure risk, and a large install base with very few reviews. Clean, adopted plugins earn a small lift.
A keyword ranking starts from wp.org's search order for the term, weighting each position by 1 divided by its place, then applies the merit correction and health factor above. Relevance to the keyword stays in the result, so the order can differ from the all-categories list on /best, which scores plugins with no search term.
Hover a row to see the main reason for its position.
Password Protected 300K+ · 4.4★ (142)
wp.org #1 2 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5,043)
wp.org #2 3 
Temporary Login Without Password 90K+ · 5.0★ (1,550)
wp.org #5 ↑1 wp.org ranks it 2 places below merit 4 
PPWP – Password Protect Pages 30K+ · 4.7★ (271)
wp.org #4 ↑1 5 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #6 ↓2 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 6 
Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3,992)
wp.org #7 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 7 
Passster – Password Protect Pages and Content 10K+ · 4.2★ (60)
wp.org #3 wp.org ranks it 4 places above merit 8 
WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1,139)
wp.org #11 ↑1 wp.org ranks it 3 places below merit 9 
Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270)
wp.org #10 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 10 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7,322)
wp.org #13 wp.org ranks it 3 places below merit 11 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #16 ↑2 wp.org ranks it 5 places below merit 12 Ivory Search – WordPress Search Plugin 90K+ · 4.9★ (1,562)
wp.org #21 wp.org ranks it 9 places below merit 13 
Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking 20K+ · 4.3★ (62)
wp.org #9 wp.org ranks it 4 places above merit 14 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4,132)
wp.org #19 ↓3 wp.org ranks it 5 places below merit 15 
Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8,870)
wp.org #22 ↓2 wp.org ranks it 7 places below merit 16 
Disabled Source, Disabled Right Click and Content Protection 10K+ · 4.9★ (103)
wp.org #15 wp.org ranks it 1 place above merit 17 
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #24 wp.org ranks it 7 places below merit 18 
Frontend Reset Password 10K+ · 4.4★ (38)
wp.org #14 wp.org ranks it 4 places above merit 19 Password Policy Manager 6K+ · 4.4★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #8 wp.org ranks it 11 places above merit 20 
Content Egg – Affiliate Product Importer & Price Comparison 10K+ · 3.9★ (56)
wp.org #20 ↓1 21 
WPEPP – Essential Security, Password Protect & Login Page Customizer 3K+ · 4.1★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 9 places above merit 22 
Add Customer for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 23 
MAS Static Content 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 5 places above merit 24 
Teydea Login Security – Password Policy, Complexity Rules & Expiration 400+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↓2 wp.org ranks it 7 places above merit Merit ranking caps the install boost at 10M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted 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.