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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “content gating”

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 gating”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 17 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

All-in-One Content Restriction – Conditional Content Visibility & Access Control for WordPress shows at wp.org #3 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 50+ 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

Kit (formerly ConvertKit) – Email Newsletter, Email Marketing, Membership, Subscribers and Landing Pages places #6 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 SureMembers – Membership & Content Restriction Plugin 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 2 MemberSpace – Sell community access, content, online courses, memberships and paid subscriptions 200+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #5 ↓1 3 too low 3 Age Gate 40K+ · 4.6★ (64) wp.org #13 ↓1 10 too low 4 Bread & Butter – Identify Website Visitors, Score Leads & Gate Content 60+ · 4.7★ (7) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 Patreon WordPress 3K+ · 3.4★ (55) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Kit (formerly ConvertKit) – Email Newsletter, Email Marketing, Membership, Subscribers and Landing Pages 40K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #24 ↓1 18 too low 7 GRO 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 ↑5 5 too high 8 Hafenstudios Ads – Ad Manager, AdSense & Banner Ads 100+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #18 ↓1 10 too low 9 Intranet & Private Site – All-In-One Intranet 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #16 7 too low 10 CardanoPress – Cardano Blockchain Integration for WordPress 40+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #22 ↓1 12 too low 11 Advanced Age Verification Popup 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Cards Layout – showcase content in responsive card grids 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 ↓1 6 too high 13 All-in-One Content Restriction – Conditional Content Visibility & Access Control for WordPress 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 ↓1 10 too high 14 Agent Abilities for MCP – Connect Claude and ChatGPT with Permission Controls and Audit Log 800+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #17 ↓2 3 too low 15 Social Share Block – Help Visitors Spread Your Content Everywhere 2K+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #7 ↓1 8 too high 16 Contact Form 7 Gated Content 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 ↓1 5 too high 17 AgeWallet – Age Verification & Age Estimation for WordPress & WooCommerce 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 7 too high 18 Didit Verify 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too high 19 Subscribe to Download Lite – Email Before Download Plugin 300+ · 3.0★ (4) wp.org #19 ↓1 20 TNC FlipBook 3D – PDF Flipbook, 3D Flipbook, PDF Viewer, PDF Embedder 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↓1 3 too low 21 Feather – Elementor Performance Optimizer | Asset Cleanup, Page Speed & Database Cleanup 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓1 9 too high 22 Dynamic Post – AI Content – White Paper – Peer Review – Tax & Accounting Sites 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too high 23 Tidy Media 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 Frontend Gatekeeper 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓2 3 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.