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

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 “enumeration”, 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

SMNTCS Disable REST API User Endpoints shows at wp.org #6 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 8K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection places #10 on merit, 4.6★ from 213 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Stop User Enumeration 60K+ · 4.9★ (132) wp.org #1 2 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #2 3 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #3 4 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #4 5 Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) wp.org #5 6 WP Encryption: Easy HTTPS / SSL & Free SSL certificate, HTTPS redirect 50K+ · 4.9★ (1146) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning 30K+ · 4.8★ (1039) wp.org #13 ↑1 6 too low 8 WP fail2ban – Advanced Security 60K+ · 4.2★ (71) wp.org #8 9 Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #16 7 too low 10 WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection 10K+ · 4.6★ (213) wp.org #18 8 too low 11 Quttera ThreatSign – Web Malware Scanner for WordPress 10K+ · 3.9★ (47) wp.org #11 12 All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 Titan Anti-spam & Security – Brute Force Protection, 2FA & Spam Filter 50K+ · 4.5★ (370) wp.org #24 11 too low 14 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #15 ↑2 1 too low 15 Apocalypse Meow 300+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too low 16 WPMasterToolKit (WPMTK) – All in one plugin 5K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #19 3 too low 17 Disable Everything 30K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #10 7 too high 18 Stop XML-RPC Attacks 6K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #7 11 too high 19 SMNTCS Disable REST API User Endpoints 8K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 13 too high 20 Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #20 21 WPEPP – Essential Security, Password Protect & Login Page Customizer 3K+ · 4.1★ (19) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Honeypot Toolkit 400+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #22 ↓1 23 Pinny’s REST Lock – Block REST User Enumeration 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↑1 9 too high 24 HT Security 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↑1 3 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.