wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “ip blocking”

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 “ip blocking”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Easy IP Blocker shows at wp.org #14 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 400+ 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 signals wp.org

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too low 2

Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #1 ↑1 1 too high 3

Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #4 ↑3 1 too low 4

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #6 ↑3 2 too low 5

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #5 6

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7

IP Location Block 10K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #3 4 too high 8

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning 30K+ · 4.8★ (1039) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too low 9

Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1488) wp.org #8 ↓4 1 too high 10

Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #13 3 too low 11

Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) not PHP-current wp.org #10 1 too high 12

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too low 13

W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #16 3 too low 14

Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #23 9 too low 15

SureCookie – GDPR Cookie Consent Banner, Cookie Scanner & Script Blocking 70K+ · 4.9★ (21) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too high 16

Trace My IP – Visitor IP Tracker, Stats Analytics & Page Views Counter with Email Alerts 1K+ · 4.5★ (21) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too high 18

Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓4 6 too low 19

SilentShield – Captcha & Anti-Spam for WordPress (CF7, WPForms, Elementor, WooCommerce) 10K+ · 4.7★ (24) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓7 3 too low 20

Advanced Country Blocker 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓2 21

GranTech IP Firewall for AbuseIPDB 50+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↑5 4 too high 22

Easy IP Blocker 400+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↑2 8 too high 23

SpamLock – Email, Domain & IP Blacklist for Elementor Forms 80+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↑3 5 too high 24

IP & Country Blocker Lite 300+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓4 3 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.