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

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 “hashing”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Simple Password Protect shows at wp.org #6 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 500+ 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #1 2 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (816) wp.org #5 ↑2 2 too low 4 Mailgun for WordPress 80K+ · 3.8★ (49) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 WP Visitor Statistics (Real Time Traffic) 20K+ · 4.5★ (156) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 Record of Consent Extension for Complianz 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 AC Advanced Flamingo Settings 800+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Cookiez – GDPR & CCPA Cookie Banner & Consent Manager 50K+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 PHP Native Password Hash 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #21 ↓1 12 too low 10 GriffinForms – Contact Form and Form Builder 20+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #18 ↑4 8 too low 11 Fastcache by Host.it 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Passwords Evolved 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 13 Simple Password Protect 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 too high 14 Duplicate Media Guard 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 15 PHP Vitals 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 6 too high 16 SP Lead Insights for Contact Form 7 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↓2 3 too low 17 Snopix — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 6 too low 18 VisitStats 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too high 19 Display Server Info 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 6 too high 20 Adriano GEO Context and Crawl Monitor 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↑2 3 too high 21 Rawi MD — Markdown for AI Crawlers 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too high 22 Media Purge – Unused Media Cleaner & Duplicate Finder 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 6 too high 23 Weblix Analytics – Real-Time Stats & Visitor Counter 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too high 24 E Email OTP Login 30+ · 3.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.