Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “denied”

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 “denied”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Analytics Head shows at wp.org #10 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 600+ 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

WPConsent – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for Privacy Compliance (GDPR / CCPA / EU Compliance Cookie Notice) places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 84 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 Blackhole for Bad Bots 30K+ · 4.7★ (148) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1488) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 New User Approve 20K+ · 4.3★ (131) wp.org #4 5 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Favorites 10K+ · 4.6★ (133) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 IP2Location Country Blocker 30K+ · 4.1★ (128) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 WP Consent API 200K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 8 too high 10 Uncanny Toolkit for LearnDash 20K+ · 4.8★ (105) wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too low 11 No-Bot Registration 2K+ · 4.4★ (28) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 WPConsent – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for Privacy Compliance (GDPR / CCPA / EU Compliance Cookie Notice) 200K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #24 ↓1 12 too low 13 PiWeb Cancel order / Refund request for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (39) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too low 14 Five Star Restaurant Reservations – WordPress Booking Plugin 10K+ · 4.7★ (211) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 Kansleri Cookie Consent 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #11 4 too high 16 Virtuaria Payments with PagBank for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.8★ (25) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 Banhammer – Monitor Site Traffic, Block Bad Users and Bots 1K+ · 4.4★ (19) wp.org #17 ↓1 18 Build Private Store For WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 Agent Abilities for MCP – Connect Claude and ChatGPT with Permission Controls and Audit Log 800+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 MZ Mindbody API 100+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too high 21 Payment Gateway Currency for WooCommerce 300+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #21 22 REST API Guard 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↑5 7 too high 23 WP Global Site Tag 7K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 Analytics Head 600+ · 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.