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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “cookie authentication”

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 “cookie authentication”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

GetTerms Cookie Consent & Policies shows at wp.org #10 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 1K+ 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

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder places #12 on merit, 4.5★ from 7322 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #1 2 CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3236) wp.org #2 3 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #3 4 WPLP Cookie Consent – Cookie Banner & Consent Management for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode 9K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #4 5 Two Factor Authentication 20K+ · 4.4★ (77) wp.org #5 6 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 Beautiful Cookie Consent Banner 40K+ · 4.5★ (95) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 JWT Authentication for WP REST API 60K+ · 4.4★ (53) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 User Switching 200K+ · 4.9★ (238) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1489) wp.org #16 5 too low 12 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #22 10 too low 13 SureCookie – GDPR Cookie Consent Banner, Cookie Scanner & Script Blocking 70K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #19 5 too low 15 FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #8 7 too high 16 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Rublon Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) 400+ · 4.2★ (88) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 JSON API Auth 600+ · 4.7★ (11) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 JSON API User 1K+ · 3.9★ (21) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 Two Factor (2FA) Authentication via Email 9K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 9 too high 22 Termageddon: Cookie Consent & Privacy Compliance 8K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #15 7 too high 23 WP SAML Auth 7K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #23 24 GetTerms Cookie Consent & Policies 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 14 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.