Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “breach”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Teydea Login Security – Password Policy, Complexity Rules & Expiration shows at wp.org #9 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 400+ 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

PI Delivery & Pickup Date Time for WooCommerce places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 90 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 wp.org
1 GDPR 10K+ · 4.3★ (58) 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 Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Atlant Security 700+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 GDPRess | Eliminate external requests to increase GDPR compliance 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Password Policy Manager 6K+ · 4.4★ (14) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 HTML5 Cumulus 1K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too low 8 SpeakOut! Email Petitions 2K+ · 4.8★ (43) wp.org #23 ↓2 15 too low 9 GDPR CCPA Compliance & Cookie Consent Banner 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #10 ↑1 1 too low 10 PI Delivery & Pickup Date Time for WooCommerce 400+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #24 ↓1 14 too low 11 Compromise Scanner for wp2shell 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 7 too high 12 Login Armor 600+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too high 13 HIPAA Forms 800+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #14 ↑5 1 too low 14 Customer Email Verification for WooCommerce – OTP Verification, Block Fake Signups 2K+ · 4.2★ (20) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 AntiSpam for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #15 16 Teydea Password Reset – Force Password Reset & Expiration 500+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 SilverStream Privacy Toolkit for POPIA 10+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 Passwords Evolved 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too high 19 Fleet Agent Site Manager – Securely Connects Your Sites to a WPMgr Dashboard 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 Teydea Login Security – Password Policy, Complexity Rules & Expiration 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 11 too high 21 Pinny’s Simple SMTP – Lightweight SMTP Mailer 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 IronPhantom Fraud Defense 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 NMI for WooCommerce 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑1 4 too high 24 Watchdog Security Lite — Powered by Lumiverse Nexus 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 4 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.