Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “audits”

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 “audits”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Agent Abilities for MCP – Connect Claude and ChatGPT with Permission Controls and Audit Log shows at wp.org #15 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 800+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner places #7 on merit, 4.7★ from 1668 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #1 2 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #2 3 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #3 4 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #4 5 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #6 7 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Stream – Activity Log & Audit Trail 70K+ · 4.3★ (76) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #5 5 too high 11 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #9 6 too high 16 CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3236) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (759) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 Disable and Remove Google Fonts | GDPR & DSGVO friendly 100K+ · 4.5★ (46) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 Agent Abilities for MCP – Connect Claude and ChatGPT with Permission Controls and Audit Log 800+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #15 7 too high 23 phpinfo() WP – Site Health, PHP Compatibility & Server Audit 3K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #23 24 WP Admin Audit 1K+ · 3.7★ (6) 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.