wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “block countries”

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 “block countries”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Countdown Block shows at wp.org #11 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.1★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Store Locator places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 312 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

iQ Block Country 20K+ · 3.9★ (166) wp.org #1 2

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint wp.org #2 3

Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4

IP Location Block 10K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #3 ↑2 1 too high 5

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too low 6

Country Based Restrictions for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.5★ (52) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #5 ↑2 1 too high 7

Payment Plugins for Stripe WooCommerce 100K+ · 4.8★ (303) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #10 3 too low 8

IP2Location Country Blocker 30K+ · 4.1★ (128) not PHP-current wp.org #9 ↓5 1 too low 9

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #13 ↑2 4 too low 10

WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #24 14 too low 11

WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 5 too high 12

Table Of Contents Block 10K+ · 4.3★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #7 ↑1 6 too high 14

Image Slider Block 4K+ · 4.4★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #12 2 too high 15

WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #18 3 too low 16

Country Code For Elementor Form Telephone Field 10K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓3 5 too low 17

Popup builder with Gamification, Multi-Step Popups, Page-Level Targeting, and WooCommerce Triggers 70K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓2 2 too low 18

Countdown Block 4K+ · 4.1★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #11 7 too high 19

Image Gallery Block 4K+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓2 3 too high 20

SVG Flags – Country Flag Blocks and Galleries 2K+ · 4.3★ (6) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓2 5 too high 21

Team Member Block 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↑6 7 too high 22

Block for Apple Maps 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too high 23

Price Table Block 800+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓2 24

Parallax Slider Block 900+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↑1 2 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.