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

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 “banning”, 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 #6 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 6 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.

merit plugin signals wp.org

AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3

Asgaros Forum 10K+ · 4.7★ (210) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #2 1 too high 4

Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

NinjaFirewall (WP Edition) – Advanced Security Plugin and Firewall 100K+ · 4.9★ (220) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6

LiveChat – Live Chat Plugin for WP Websites 10K+ · 4.6★ (98) wp.org #8 2 too low 7

Wise Chat 4K+ · 4.4★ (105) wp.org #9 2 too low 8

Comments – GraphComment | AI-Moderated Comment System 400+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too low 9

Chatroll Live Chat 200+ · 4.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #7 2 too high 10

SurfLink – Link Manager & Backup Restore 10+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too low 11

FV Thoughtful Comments 70+ · 5.0★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #16 5 too low 12

Fraud and Scam Detection For WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #6 6 too high 13

Obzervi Logs — · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #20 7 too low 14

Zamok – Security and Site Tools 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #10 4 too high 15

Bot Protector for PayPal for WooCommerce 20+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↑2 2 too high 16

Init Chat Engine – Real-Time, Community, Extensible 50+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too high 17 C Comment Ban Manager 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #18 1 too low 18

Secure Owl Firewall 10+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↓3 4 too high 19

Visitor Sentinel — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #19 20

Block Member Posting – Read-Only Members for BuddyPress 10+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #21 1 too low 21

Access Guard — · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #17 4 too high 22

Sedattelli – Bulk Delete Comments & Users with IP Ban — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #22 23

Smart Answer — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↑1 24

Walkercorp Sentinelle – Security, Firewall & Hide Login — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓1

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.