Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “banned”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 3 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

Fraud and Scam Detection For WooCommerce shows at wp.org #12 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 200+ 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

miniOrange OTP Login, Verification and SMS Notifications places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 439 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Ad Invalid Click Protector (AICP) 10K+ · 4.7★ (62) wp.org #1 2 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 WP-Ban 8K+ · 3.7★ (27) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Simple Ajax Chat – Add a Fast, Secure Chat Box 2K+ · 4.9★ (215) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 WP fail2ban – Advanced Security 60K+ · 4.2★ (71) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Banhammer – Monitor Site Traffic, Block Bad Users and Bots 1K+ · 4.4★ (19) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 VS Contact Form 6K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #7 ↑1 8 SecuPress with Simple SSL – Simple and Performant Security 40K+ · 4.1★ (106) wp.org #8 ↑1 9 miniOrange OTP Login, Verification and SMS Notifications 5K+ · 4.7★ (439) wp.org #17 8 too low 10 ProfilePress – Paid Membership, Online Courses (LMS), Ecommerce, User Registration & Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content 100K+ · 3.1★ (938) wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too high 11 Apocalypse Meow 300+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #11 12 AI Product Tools – Bulk Product Content Generator & AI Toolkit for WooCommerce 500+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 Atlant Security 700+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #14 ↑4 1 too low 14 Checkout Shield for WooCommerce – Stop Fake Orders, Spam Bots & Card Testing 400+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #10 ↑3 4 too high 15 GeeK! – Movie & Game Database 70+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too low 16 Nginx Cache Purge Preload 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #16 17 Opace AI Scribe: SEO Content Creator & Humanizer for OpenAI, Anthropic & Gemini 100+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #22 ↑1 5 too low 18 Jeepers Peepers: WP Syslog 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too high 19 IP Blacklist for Cloudflare 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too low 20 Fraud and Scam Detection For WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 8 too high 21 Anti Browser DDoS Protection 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too high 22 Dynamic Post – AI Content – White Paper – Peer Review – Tax & Accounting Sites 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too high 23 WhoKnew Shield — Email, Phone & Address Security 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 24 Safetag 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.