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

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 unlock”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Subscribe to Unlock Lite – Opt In Content Locker Plugin for WordPress shows at wp.org #4 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.9★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager places #12 on merit, 5.0★ from 1526 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Content Control – The Ultimate Content Restriction Solution! Restrict Content, Create Conditional Blocks & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (575) wp.org #2 1 too low 2

Passster – Password Protect Pages and Content 10K+ · 4.2★ (60) wp.org #1 1 too high 3

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #3 4

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #6 1 too low 6

Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #7 ↑5 1 too low 7

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #10 ↓2 3 too low 8

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #8 ↓1 9

Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too low 10

WP RSS Aggregator – RSS Import, Feed to Post, Autoblogging, AI Content 40K+ · 4.5★ (565) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too low 11

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too low 12

Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1526) wp.org #19 ↑3 7 too low 13

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #18 ↑2 5 too low 14

Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #17 ↑4 3 too low 15

Nelio Content – Editorial Calendar & Social Media Auto-Posting 3K+ · 4.4★ (104) wp.org #11 ↑2 4 too high 16

AI Puffer – AI Chatbot & MCP Server for Claude and ChatGPT 10K+ · 4.6★ (166) wp.org #15 ↑1 1 too high 17

Subscribe to Unlock Lite – Opt In Content Locker Plugin for WordPress 500+ · 3.9★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #4 13 too high 18

Advanced Floating Content Lite 7K+ · 4.1★ (30) wp.org #9 9 too high 19

Redirection for Contact Form 7 200K+ · 4.7★ (275) wp.org #23 ↑1 4 too low 20

Unlock Addons for Elementor 70+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too high 21

Content Blocks Builder – Create blocks, repeater blocks with carousel, grid, popup layouts 1K+ · 5.0★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓3 22

AutoWP – AI Content Writer & Rewriter 900+ · 3.8★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓3 23

SiteSEO – SEO Simplified 400K+ · 4.0★ (8) host-installed base thin reviews wp.org #24 1 too low 24

Stepped Content – Guide readers through content one step at a time 200+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↑3 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.