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← Rankings

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

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 “blocklist”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 5 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

Email Blocklist shows at wp.org #7 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 40+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection places #7 on merit, 4.6★ from 3992 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 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #1 2 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #2 3 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #3 4 Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #8 ↑1 4 too low 5 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #5 ↑1 6 WP fail2ban – Advanced Security 60K+ · 4.2★ (71) wp.org #6 7 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #17 10 too low 8 IP Location Block 10K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #10 ↑6 2 too low 9 Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ · 4.2★ (386) wp.org #9 ↓2 10 Spam Protection | Maspik 30K+ · 4.7★ (87) wp.org #15 5 too low 11 Patchstack – WordPress & Plugins Security 100K+ · 4.9★ (61) wp.org #11 ↓1 12 WP fail2ban Blocklist 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 8 too high 13 Anti-Spam Protection – No API Key, GDPR Friendly 1K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #20 ↓1 7 too low 14 Blacklist Manager – WooCommerce Anti-Fraud, Blacklist & Checkout Verification 2K+ · 3.6★ (14) wp.org #13 ↓4 1 too high 15 CrowdSec 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #14 ↓3 1 too high 16 AntiSpam for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #22 ↑1 6 too low 17 Block List Updater 2K+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #16 ↓3 1 too high 18 Protect Login 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 I don't like Spam! 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓4 2 too low 20 Antispam for Elementor Forms 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓1 8 too high 21 Easy IP Blocker 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓3 3 too high 22 Registration Email Blocker 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Advanced Email Filter for Elementor Forms 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑1 4 too high 24 Email Blocklist 40+ · 2.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↓3 17 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.