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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “bot paywall”

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 “bot paywall”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 4 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

Zero Budget Bot Shield shows at wp.org #9 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

File Manager Pro – Filester places #5 on merit, 4.9★ from 155 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #1 2 Leaky Paywall 600+ · 4.2★ (35) wp.org #2 3 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 Headers Security Advanced & HSTS WP 90K+ · 4.9★ (79) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 File Manager Pro – Filester 100K+ · 4.9★ (155) wp.org #10 ↓1 5 too low 6 ProfilePress – Paid Membership, Online Courses (LMS), Ecommerce, User Registration & Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content 100K+ · 3.1★ (938) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7 s2Member – Excellent for All Kinds of Memberships, Content Restriction Paywalls & Member Access Subscriptions 8K+ · 4.1★ (234) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Zlick Paywall 100+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #3 5 too high 9 Icegram Collect – Easy Contact Form, Subscription Form & Lead Collection Plugin for WordPress 2K+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 FAZ Cookie Manager 3K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #17 ↓3 7 too low 11 CardanoPress – Cardano Blockchain Integration for WordPress 40+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #16 ↓4 5 too low 12 Movie Engine – OTT Streaming Platform for Movies & TV Series 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 VPSUForm – Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder with Email Automation 200+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 Hostbox Google reCAPTCHA 600+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #19 ↓4 5 too low 15 WP MyLinks 1K+ · 4.0★ (14) wp.org #24 ↓4 9 too low 16 Zero Budget Bot Shield 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↓1 7 too high 17 CAPI Suite: Meta Pixel, Pinterest & TikTok for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↓4 2 too high 18 P2Flux Agent Paywall 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↓1 7 too high 19 Hash Form – Drag & Drop Form Builder 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↓5 1 too high 20 PaywallProject 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 A-Pay Web3 AI Paywall — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓4 1 too high 22 SafeGuard Cloud Paywall – Bot Protection — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓4 23 SitePulse – Performance Monitor, Safe Updates & Site Management 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓4 2 too high 24 SecureLite Security – Firewall, Malware Scanner & Attack Simulation 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓4 1 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.