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

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 “gdpr”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 2 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

WPLP Cookie Consent – Cookie Banner & Consent Management for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode shows at wp.org #8 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 9K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.6★ average from 51 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

LiteSpeed Cache places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 2778 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #1 2

GDPR Cookie Compliance – Cookie Banner, Cookie Consent, Cookie Notice for CCPA, EU Cookie Law 300K+ · 4.6★ (205) wp.org #2 3

CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3236) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4

GDPR 10K+ · 4.3★ (58) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too high 5

Cookie Compliance for WordPress – Cookie Consent, GDPR & CCPA 800K+ · 4.8★ (3026) wp.org #6 1 too low 6

The GDPR Framework By Data443 10K+ · 4.8★ (65) wp.org #5 ↓2 1 too high 7

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #12 ↓2 5 too low 8 D Disable Emojis (GDPR friendly) 60K+ · 5.0★ (108) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too low 9

Real Cookie Banner: GDPR & ePrivacy Cookie Consent 100K+ · 4.9★ (492) not PHP-current wp.org #10 ↑3 1 too low 10

GDPR Data Request Form 5K+ · 4.9★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #7 3 too high 11

LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #21 ↓7 10 too low 12

iubenda | All-in-one Compliance for GDPR / CCPA Cookie Consent + more 200K+ · 4.7★ (397) wp.org #20 ↓2 8 too low 13

OMGF | GDPR/DSGVO Compliant, Faster Google Fonts. Easy. 300K+ · 4.7★ (213) wp.org #17 ↓3 4 too low 14

WPConsent – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for Privacy Compliance (GDPR / CCPA / EU Compliance Cookie Notice) 200K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #15 ↑1 1 too low 15

Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #19 ↑3 4 too low 16

WPLP Cookie Consent – Cookie Banner & Consent Management for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode 9K+ · 4.6★ (51) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #8 ↓1 8 too high 17

Cookiebot – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode 100K+ · 4.4★ (440) wp.org #23 ↓1 6 too low 18

Disable and Remove Google Fonts | GDPR & DSGVO friendly 100K+ · 4.5★ (46) heavy footprint wp.org #13 ↓2 5 too high 19

Simple GDPR Cookie Compliance 6K+ · 4.9★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓2 8 too high 20

WP DSGVO Tools (GDPR) 10K+ · 4.0★ (116) heavy footprint wp.org #24 ↓3 4 too low 21

GDPRess | Eliminate external requests to increase GDPR compliance 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↓2 7 too high 22

exovia GDPR Google Maps 4K+ · 4.6★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too high 23

GDPR tools: Cookie notice + privacy 5K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #18 5 too high 24

GDPR CCPA Compliance & Cookie Consent Banner 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓2 2 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.