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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “enterprise security”

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 “enterprise security”, we agree with wp.org 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

PayPal Enterprise Payments (formerly Braintree) for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #13 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.6★ average from 50 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Translate WordPress with GTranslate places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 4962 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 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #1 2 Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #2 3 Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1488) wp.org #3 4 MalCare WordPress Security Plugin – Malware Scanner, Cleaner, Security Firewall 100K+ · 4.4★ (559) wp.org #4 5 WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (490) wp.org #7 ↓2 2 too low 6 Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too low 7 All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too low 8 Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ · 4.2★ (386) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too high 9 WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184) wp.org #12 ↑1 3 too low 10 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 Atlant Security 700+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #5 ↑1 6 too high 12 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #24 12 too low 13 User Switching 200K+ · 4.9★ (238) wp.org #22 ↑1 9 too low 14 hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88) wp.org #16 ↓2 2 too low 15 Patchstack – WordPress & Plugins Security 100K+ · 4.9★ (61) wp.org #10 ↓1 5 too high 16 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #19 2 too low 18 WPScan – WordPress Security Scanner 8K+ · 3.8★ (28) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too high 19 Ray Enterprise Translation 7K+ · 2.6★ (48) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 Atomic Edge Security – Firewall, Malware Scan and Login Security 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #15 ↓4 5 too high 21 PayPal Enterprise Payments (formerly Braintree) for WooCommerce 10K+ · 2.6★ (50) wp.org #13 ↑2 8 too high 22 WebDefender Security – Protection & AntiSpam 1K+ · 4.0★ (18) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Media Library Downloader 5K+ · 4.8★ (8) wp.org #23 ↓1 24 Cloud Maestro – WAF Security Suite for Cloudflare 70+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #18 6 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.