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

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 “authorization”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 4 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

Cashfree for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #12 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 9K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Social Media Auto Poster – Schedule & Publish to Buffer places #11 on merit, 4.5★ from 125 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #1 2

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #2 3

Maintenance 1M+ · 4.4★ (869) wp.org #3 ↑1 4

WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #4 ↓1 5

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 #5 6

Access Governance for WordPress (aka AAM) 100K+ · 4.2★ (420) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7

WPGet API – Connect to any external REST API 10K+ · 5.0★ (32) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8

WP Data Access – App Builder for Tables, Forms, Dashboards, Charts & Maps 10K+ · 4.9★ (88) wp.org #11 ↑6 3 too low 9

WP OAuth Server ( Login with WordPress ) 1K+ · 4.9★ (41) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too low 10

JWT Authentication for WP REST API 60K+ · 4.4★ (53) not PHP-current wp.org #10 ↓1 11

Social Media Auto Poster – Schedule & Publish to Buffer 7K+ · 4.5★ (125) wp.org #18 ↓4 7 too low 12

WP API SwaggerUI 2K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too high 13

Simple Restrict 1K+ · 4.9★ (15) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #8 ↓1 5 too high 14

WPS Limit Login 100K+ · 4.9★ (83) wp.org #24 ↓3 10 too low 15

Authorizer 6K+ · 5.0★ (20) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↓6 2 too low 16

Contact Form to Any API 8K+ · 5.0★ (28) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too high 17 O OpenID Connect Generic Client 10K+ · 5.0★ (21) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓4 3 too low 18

Payment Gateway for Redsys & WooCommerce Lite 20K+ · 4.9★ (87) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #22 ↓3 3 too low 20

WP OAuth Server (OAuth Authentication) 3K+ · 3.8★ (41) not PHP-current wp.org #23 ↓5 3 too low 21

Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #21 22

Cashfree for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #12 ↓2 10 too high 23

WP Global Site Tag 7K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too high 24

Payment Gateway for Authorize.net for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current 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.