wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “admin protection”

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 “admin protection”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

SiteGuard WP Plugin shows at wp.org #12 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 600K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 15 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 3220 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #1 2

Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection 5M+ · 4.7★ (1187) wp.org #3 ↑2 1 too low 3

Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too high 4

Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) heavy footprint wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6

WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1138) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too low 8

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #13 ↓11 5 too low 9

Spam Protection | Maspik 30K+ · 4.7★ (87) wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too high 10

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #15 5 too low 11

Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking 20K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #7 ↑1 4 too high 12

Disabled Source, Disabled Right Click and Content Protection 10K+ · 4.9★ (103) wp.org #10 ↑6 2 too high 13

WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection 10K+ · 4.6★ (213) wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too low 14

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #22 8 too low 15

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too low 16

Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #24 8 too low 17

ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #9 ↑1 8 too high 18

All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #16 ↓3 2 too high 19

Protect Admin 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #20 1 too low 20

ClickCease Click Fraud Protection 10K+ · 3.0★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #14 6 too high 21

SiteGuard WP Plugin 600K+ · 4.3★ (15) throws errorsnot PHP-currenthost-installed base thin reviews wp.org #12 ↓1 9 too high 22

Admin login URL Change 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #21 1 too high 23

Captchinoo, admin login page protection with Google recaptcha 300+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #23 24

Image Protection 200+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #19 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.