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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “core integrity”

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 “core integrity”, we agree with wp.org 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

Protector – Malware Removal, Firewall & Core Repair shows at wp.org #10 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 1039 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040) wp.org #1 2 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708) wp.org #2 3 All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 NitroPack – Performance, Page Speed & Cache Plugin for Core Web Vitals, CDN & Image Optimization 80K+ · 4.3★ (311) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Anti-Malware Security and Brute-Force Firewall 100K+ · 4.9★ (783) wp.org #11 ↓1 5 too low 7 Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ · 4.2★ (386) wp.org #7 8 Security Ninja – WordPress Security & Firewall 7K+ · 4.7★ (101) wp.org #8 9 Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning 30K+ · 4.8★ (1039) wp.org #17 8 too low 10 Integrity Checker 200+ · 4.8★ (6) wp.org #3 7 too high 11 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #15 ↑1 4 too low 12 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #9 ↑3 3 too high 13 WP Data Access – App Builder for Tables, Forms, Dashboards, Charts & Maps 10K+ · 4.9★ (88) wp.org #18 ↑4 5 too low 14 Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 Cyr to Lat Enhanced 80K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 NinjaScanner – Virus & Malware scan 40K+ · 4.0★ (36) wp.org #16 ↓1 17 atec Cache APCu 3K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too low 18 Melapress File Monitor 5K+ · 4.1★ (32) wp.org #22 ↓2 4 too low 19 Lockora Security Audit 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 ↓1 7 too high 20 Protector – Malware Removal, Firewall & Core Repair 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 ↓1 10 too high 21 RSFirewall! 4K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #21 22 InTouch Integrity Guard 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 9 too high 23 HT Security 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too high 24 Cleverhog Malware Scanner 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 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.