Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “ipv4”

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 “ipv4”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 4 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

Protect Login shows at wp.org #12 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 700+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection places #8 on merit, 4.6★ from 213 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 IP Location Block 10K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #1 2 NinjaFirewall (WP Edition) – Advanced Security Plugin and Firewall 100K+ · 4.9★ (220) wp.org #2 3 Maintenance & Coming Soon Redirect Animation 3K+ · 5.0★ (34) wp.org #3 4 Jquery Validation For Contact Form 7 8K+ · 4.6★ (87) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 IP2Location Country Blocker 30K+ · 4.1★ (128) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Geolocation IP Detection 20K+ · 4.7★ (59) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7 IP2Location Redirection 7K+ · 4.3★ (43) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection 10K+ · 4.6★ (213) wp.org #14 6 too low 9 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 WP-Ban 8K+ · 3.7★ (27) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 I IP Based Login 500+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #11 12 My Private Site – Make Your Whole Site Private, Force Login & Block Registration Spam 10K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #18 6 too low 13 Search Analytics for WP – Site Search Tracking 3K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #13 14 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #9 ↓1 5 too high 15 Proxy & VPN Blocker 1K+ · 3.8★ (33) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 Geo Controller – Geolocation & Geotargeting 1K+ · 4.4★ (31) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Trace My IP – Visitor IP Tracker, Stats Analytics & Page Views Counter with Email Alerts 1K+ · 4.5★ (21) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 Protect Login 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 IP2Location Tags 200+ · 3.7★ (9) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too low 20 atec Stats 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Fail2WP 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too low 22 Checkout Guard – Block Fake Orders, Spam & Fraud for WooCommerce 90+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 HT Security 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 IP2Location Variables 100+ · 2.3★ (3) 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.