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

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 “hacking”, 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 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

Always Remember Me shows at wp.org #13 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 400+ 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

Clearfy Cache – WordPress optimization plugin, Minify HTML, CSS & JS, Defer places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 339 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 wp.org
1 Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406) wp.org #1 2 Stop User Enumeration 60K+ · 4.9★ (132) wp.org #2 3 Backuply – Backup, Restore, Migrate and Clone 600K+ · 4.5★ (135) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 Meow Gallery 10K+ · 4.9★ (203) wp.org #5 ↓2 1 too low 5 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too high 7 Jetpack Protect 100K+ · 4.6★ (123) wp.org #7 ↑1 8 WP Limit Login Attempts 10K+ · 4.6★ (300) wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too low 9 WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) wp.org #9 10 Clearfy Cache – WordPress optimization plugin, Minify HTML, CSS & JS, Defer 40K+ · 4.7★ (339) wp.org #21 ↑1 11 too low 11 Two Factor Authentication 20K+ · 4.4★ (77) wp.org #14 ↑1 3 too low 12 Post Types Unlimited 10K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #8 ↓2 4 too high 13 MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 Next Active Directory Integration 2K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #10 ↑1 4 too high 15 SecuPress with Simple SSL – Simple and Performant Security 40K+ · 4.1★ (106) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 Injection Guard 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #11 ↓1 5 too high 17 Royal WordPress Backup, Restore & Migration Plugin – Backup WordPress Sites Safely 30K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #17 ↑2 18 ChatBot.com Conversational AI Support 1K+ · 3.7★ (10) wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too low 19 Always Remember Me 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too high 20 reCaptcha by WebDesignBy 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too high 21 GranTech IP Firewall for AbuseIPDB 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Amitry Maintenance Mode & Coming Soon 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↑1 23 A little more secure 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓2 4 too high 24 Mirror Gravatar 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↑1 1 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.