wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “ban user”
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 “ban user”, we and wp.org disagree 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
Block User Account shows at wp.org #4 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 20 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
BBQ Firewall – Fast & Powerful Firewall Security places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 160 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.
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 
User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End 10K+ · 4.8★ (913)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
WP-Ban 8K+ · 3.7★ (27)
wp.org #1 2 too high 4 
Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220)
wp.org #7 2 too low 6 
Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397)
wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7 
RegistrationMagic – Custom Registration Forms, User Registration, Payment, and User Login 7K+ · 4.5★ (459)
wp.org #10 ↓2 3 too low 8 
Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) not PHP-current
wp.org #9 ↑2 1 too low 9 
Disable Gutenberg 500K+ · 5.0★ (735)
wp.org #14 5 too low 10 
Admin Custom Login 10K+ · 4.6★ (388)
wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too low 11 BBQ Firewall – Fast & Powerful Firewall Security 100K+ · 4.9★ (160)
wp.org #18 ↑1 7 too low 12 
Wise Chat 4K+ · 4.4★ (105)
wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too low 13 
GA Google Analytics – Connect Google Analytics to WordPress 400K+ · 4.9★ (158)
wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too low 14 
YOP Poll 10K+ · 4.4★ (452)
wp.org #22 ↓5 8 too low 15 
Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334)
wp.org #24 9 too low 16 
Blackhole for Bad Bots 30K+ · 4.7★ (148)
wp.org #23 7 too low 17 
Right Click Ban – Disable Right Click & Content Copy Protection 400+ · 4.3★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #6 11 too high 18 
Apocalypse Meow 300+ · 5.0★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↑1 3 too high 19 
All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35)
wp.org #12 ↓3 7 too high 20 
WP fail2ban – Advanced Security 60K+ · 4.2★ (71)
wp.org #19 1 too high 21 
Disable WP REST API 30K+ · 4.8★ (36)
wp.org #20 1 too high 22 
Banhammer – Monitor Site Traffic, Block Bad Users and Bots 1K+ · 4.4★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↑1 11 too high 23 
Disable Media Sizes 10K+ · 5.0★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Block User Account 1K+ · 4.3★ (7) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #4 20 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.