wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “allow ip”

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 “allow ip”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 2 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

Easy IP Blocker shows at wp.org #7 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 1667 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too low 2

Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #1 ↑1 1 too high 3

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #6 ↑6 3 too low 4

IP Location Block 10K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #3 1 too high 5

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #10 ↑3 3 too low 8 I IP Based Login 600+ · 4.9★ (23) thin reviews wp.org #5 3 too high 9

TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #14 ↓4 5 too low 10

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #15 5 too low 11

Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1488) wp.org #16 ↓10 5 too low 12

Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) not PHP-current wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too low 13

Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703) wp.org #17 ↑2 4 too low 14

Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #18 ↑4 4 too low 15

Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) not PHP-current wp.org #21 ↓3 6 too low 16

Simple JWT Login – Allows you to use JWT on REST endpoints. 4K+ · 5.0★ (47) wp.org #20 4 too low 17

Trace My IP – Visitor IP Tracker, Stats Analytics & Page Views Counter with Email Alerts 1K+ · 4.5★ (21) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #11 6 too high 18

All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 S Show Visitor IP 300+ · 3.6★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #9 10 too high 20

WP Show Site by IP 50+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↑1 3 too low 21

Easy IP Blocker 400+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #7 ↑1 14 too high 22

alx ip statistic 70+ · 4.5★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓1 23

IP Address Approval 100+ · 3.7★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #12 11 too high 24

IP & Country Blocker Lite 300+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews 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.