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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “have i been pwned”

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 “have i been pwned”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 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

Authlify – Custom Login URL, Login Security, 2FA & Login Page Designer shows at wp.org #19 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 30+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

How this rank is calculated

Each plugin's merit score multiplies these inputs together: how recently it was updated, how current its "tested up to" WordPress version is, its install base (log scale, capped at 10 million), its support thread resolution rate, and a rating score. The rating score weights the star average by review volume against a sitewide prior, then scales it by the lower bound of the share of 4 and 5 star reviews. A plugin with 3.7 stars from tens of thousands of reviews can still outscore a 4.9 with a few dozen, because the small sample carries less certainty.

A health factor between 0.4 and 1.15 then adjusts that score for what wp.org's search can't see: PHP fatals or failed activations on a test install, PHP and WordPress compatibility, memory and page-speed footprint, suspicious review patterns, closure risk, and a large install base with very few reviews. Clean, adopted plugins earn a small lift.

A keyword ranking starts from wp.org's search order for the term, weighting each position by 1 divided by its place, then applies the merit correction and health factor above. Relevance to the keyword stays in the result, so the order can differ from the all-categories list on /best, which scores plugins with no search term.

Hover a row to see the main reason for its position.

merit plugin wp.org
1 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1,720) wp.org #1 2 Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #4 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 2 places below merit 3 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3,992) wp.org #5 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 2 places below merit 4 Login Armor 500+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #2 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 2 places above merit 5 Passwords Evolved 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 2 places above merit 6 SiteFort Security – Firewall, Malware Scanner & Hardening 70+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #13 ↓5 wp.org ranks it 7 places below merit 7 Better Passwords 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 ↓2 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 8 Loyal Security – Firewall & Malware Scanner 10+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 wp.org ranks it 2 places below merit 9 Fleet Agent Site Manager – Securely Connects Your Sites to a WPMgr Dashboard 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 ↓2 wp.org ranks it 2 places above merit 10 Open24 Security 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 wp.org ranks it 4 places above merit 11 BetterShield – Security Audit, 2FA, Passkeys & Login Protection 700+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 12 ReportedIP Hive: Firewall, Brute Force Protection, 2FA and Anti-Spam 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 wp.org ranks it 3 places above merit 13 Diamond Sierra Site Defense 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 wp.org ranks it 1 place above merit 14 Forge12 Security – Firewall, Malware Scanner, 2FA & Login Security 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓3 15 WordSec – Malware Scanner & Removal, Web Application Firewall (WAF), and 2FA 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↓8 wp.org ranks it 8 places below merit 16 Ensomedia Security powered by shieldwave.io 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 wp.org ranks it 1 place above merit 17 Keel Defaults 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↑2 18 Locktura Security 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓9 19 Cybexsoft Shield — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑4 wp.org ranks it 3 places above merit 20 Owl Security 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓8 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 21 Cypress North Password Policy — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓10 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 22 Qevix Shield – 2FA, Hide Login, Firewall, File Security & Malware Scanner — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓10 wp.org ranks it 2 places above merit 23 Nexura Security — Malware Scanner, Firewall, 2FA & WordPress Security 20+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #24 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 24 Authlify – Custom Login URL, Login Security, 2FA & Login Page Designer 30+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓5 wp.org ranks it 5 places above merit

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 10M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted 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.