wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “content”
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 “content”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 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
Passster – Password Protect Pages and Content shows at wp.org #8 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 60 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 5038 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #1 2 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #2 3 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #3 ↑3 4 
Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270)
wp.org #5 ↑6 1 too low 5 
Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187)
wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too high 6 
WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1138)
wp.org #7 1 too low 7 
Content Control – The Ultimate Content Restriction Solution! Restrict Content, Create Conditional Blocks & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (575)
wp.org #9 2 too low 8 
Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #10 ↓6 2 too low 9 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) heavy footprint
wp.org #14 5 too low 10 
SSL Insecure Content Fixer 100K+ · 4.8★ (221) not PHP-current
wp.org #11 ↓2 1 too low 11 
Shortcodes Ultimate – Content Elements 400K+ · 4.9★ (5925) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↑1 4 too low 12 
MxChat – AI Chatbot & Content Generation for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (31) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #6 ↑2 6 too high 13 
Easy Table of Contents 600K+ · 4.4★ (221)
wp.org #13 ↓1 14 
Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking 20K+ · 4.3★ (62)
wp.org #12 ↓2 2 too high 15 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #17 ↑3 2 too low 16 
Content Aware Sidebars – Fastest Widget Area Plugin 30K+ · 4.9★ (724) not PHP-current
wp.org #22 6 too low 17 
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #16 ↓3 1 too high 18 Passster – Password Protect Pages and Content 10K+ · 4.2★ (60) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 ↓5 10 too high 19 
Disabled Source, Disabled Right Click and Content Protection 10K+ · 4.9★ (103)
wp.org #23 4 too low 20 
Export media with selected content (by DKZR) 40K+ · 4.5★ (93)
wp.org #24 ↓2 4 too low 21 
Timed Content 5K+ · 4.6★ (41)
wp.org #19 ↓2 2 too high 22 
ACF Content Analysis for Yoast SEO 100K+ · 4.1★ (35)
wp.org #20 ↓2 2 too high 23 
Essential Content Types 20K+ · 3.7★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓2 2 too high 24 
MAS Static Content 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓3 6 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.