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

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 restriction”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Posts Like Dislike shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 23 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 1281 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #1 ↑1 2

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #3 1 too low 3

Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too high 7

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #13 6 too low 8

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #12 4 too low 9

s2Member – Excellent for All Kinds of Memberships, Content Restriction Paywalls & Member Access Subscriptions 8K+ · 4.1★ (234) wp.org #8 1 too high 10

Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #7 ↑4 3 too high 11

Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591) wp.org #17 ↓3 6 too low 12

Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) wp.org #15 ↑2 3 too low 13

Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #16 ↑4 3 too low 14

Spam Protection | Maspik 30K+ · 4.7★ (87) wp.org #14 ↓4 15

Comments Like Dislike 4K+ · 4.6★ (38) wp.org #9 ↓2 6 too high 16

Site Reviews 60K+ · 4.9★ (376) wp.org #21 ↓5 5 too low 17

WP-Members Membership Plugin 50K+ · 4.6★ (272) wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too low 18

Reviews and Rating – Google Reviews 20K+ · 4.9★ (184) wp.org #22 ↓4 4 too low 19

Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↑1 8 too high 20

Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #23 ↓4 3 too low 21

Restricted Site Access 10K+ · 4.8★ (62) wp.org #18 ↓5 3 too high 22

Posts Like Dislike 5K+ · 4.3★ (23) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↓1 12 too high 23

GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #19 ↓4 4 too high 24

Media Restriction 70+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews 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.