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

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 blocklist”, 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

Easy IP Blocker shows at wp.org #5 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 15 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.

Buried gem

Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection places #10 on merit, 4.6★ from 3992 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040) wp.org #1 2 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 IP Location Block 10K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 Patchstack – WordPress & Plugins Security 100K+ · 4.8★ (62) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 Spam Protection | Maspik 30K+ · 4.7★ (87) wp.org #9 ↓3 2 too low 8 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #8 9 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #15 ↑4 6 too low 10 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #19 ↓1 9 too low 11 WP fail2ban – Advanced Security 60K+ · 4.2★ (71) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too low 12 Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ · 4.2★ (386) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 AI Puffer – AI Chatbot & MCP Server for Claude and ChatGPT 10K+ · 4.6★ (166) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 Anti-Spam Protection – No API Key, GDPR Friendly 1K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #14 15 WPEPP – Essential Security, Password Protect & Login Page Customizer 3K+ · 4.1★ (19) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16 Web-Art Login Shield with reCAPTCHA 100+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Blacklist Manager – WooCommerce Anti-Fraud, Blacklist & Checkout Verification 2K+ · 3.6★ (14) wp.org #18 ↓2 1 too low 18 WP fail2ban Blocklist 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 ↑2 11 too high 19 CrowdSec 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 Easy IP Blocker 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 15 too high 21 GranTech IP Firewall for AbuseIPDB 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 ↑1 10 too high 22 IP & Country Blocker Lite 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 9 too high 23 Antispam for Elementor Forms 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Anti Fake Orders & IP Blocker 300+ · 1.0★ (2) wp.org #20 4 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.