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

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

IP Whitelist shows at wp.org #9 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 50+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 2433 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

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

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

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #3 ↓1 4

Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6

Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #13 ↑3 7 too low 7

Password Protected 300K+ · 4.4★ (142) wp.org #8 9

Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #6 ↑1 3 too high 10

Blackhole for Bad Bots 30K+ · 4.7★ (148) wp.org #12 ↓2 2 too low 11

Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1489) wp.org #16 ↓2 5 too low 12

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #19 ↓2 7 too low 13

Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #18 5 too low 14

Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #20 ↑4 6 too low 15

Quttera ThreatSign – Web Malware Scanner for WordPress 10K+ · 3.9★ (47) wp.org #17 ↓2 2 too low 16

SilentShield – Captcha & Anti-Spam for WordPress (CF7, WPForms, Elementor, WooCommerce) 10K+ · 4.7★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #22 6 too low 17

Really Simple Under Construction Page – Coming Soon & Maintenance Mode 1K+ · 4.8★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓2 2 too high 18

WP Show Site by IP 50+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓2 7 too high 19

DoLogin Security 7K+ · 4.5★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓2 2 too low 20

CM E-Mail Blacklist – Simple email filtering for safer registration 700+ · 4.5★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓3 4 too low 21

GranTech IP Firewall for AbuseIPDB 50+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↑2 11 too high 22

IP Whitelist 50+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #9 ↓1 13 too high 23

IP & Country Blocker Lite 300+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↓3 9 too high 24

Anti Fake Orders & IP Blocker 300+ · 1.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓3 1 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.