wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “expire users”
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 “expire users”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 5 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
Auto Post Expire shows at wp.org #5 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 18 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
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 3220 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 
User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission 20K+ · 4.1★ (537) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 
RegistrationMagic – Custom Registration Forms, User Registration, Payment, and User Login 7K+ · 4.5★ (459)
wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too low 4 
301 Redirects – Redirect Manager 300K+ · 4.7★ (578)
wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too low 5 
W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420)
wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too low 6 
Expire User Passwords 3K+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #1 5 too high 7 
Temporary Login Without Password 90K+ · 5.0★ (1549)
wp.org #11 ↑2 4 too low 8 
Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517)
wp.org #10 2 too low 9 
Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270)
wp.org #9 10 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220)
wp.org #15 5 too low 11 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too low 12 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519)
wp.org #16 ↓5 4 too low 13 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #17 ↓2 4 too low 14 
Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869)
wp.org #23 ↑1 9 too low 15 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #22 ↓1 7 too low 16 
Depicter — Popup & Slider Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (235) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #12 ↑2 4 too high 17 
HurryTimer – An Scarcity and Urgency Countdown Timer for WordPress & WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.8★ (170)
wp.org #20 3 too low 18 
Wallet for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.7★ (188) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 
HTTP Headers 40K+ · 4.3★ (70)
wp.org #24 5 too low 20 
Passster – Password Protect Pages and Content 10K+ · 4.2★ (60) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #14 ↑2 6 too high 21 
Variation Auto Expire For WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #4 ↓1 17 too high 22 
Product Attachment for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.5★ (24) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↑2 1 too high 23 Auto Post Expire 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #5 ↑1 18 too high 24 
Block User Account 1K+ · 4.3★ (7) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓1 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.