Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “isp”, we agree with wp.org 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

IP2Location Variables shows at wp.org #12 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.3★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 StatCounter – Real Time Visitor Stats, Session Replay & Heatmaps 70K+ · 4.2★ (56) wp.org #1 2 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #2 ↑3 3 User IP and Location 3K+ · 4.2★ (9) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Geo Controller – Geolocation & Geotargeting 1K+ · 4.4★ (31) wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too low 5 Movie Engine – OTT Streaming Platform for Movies & TV Series 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 FlatPM – Ad Manager, AdSense and Custom Code 10K+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #6 ↓2 7 IP2Location Tags 200+ · 3.7★ (9) wp.org #10 ↓3 3 too low 8 SMTP.com 80+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #8 ↑2 9 WP Helper Premium 1K+ · 3.6★ (8) wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too low 10 KCSG Kartra Pages 400+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #16 6 too low 11 GranTech IP Firewall for AbuseIPDB 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 SocketLabs 800+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #5 ↓2 7 too high 13 User Location and IP 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 ↓3 2 too high 14 WordSec – Malware Scanner & Removal, Web Application Firewall (WAF), and 2FA 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 Deskmode Suite 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓1 16 IP2Phrase 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too high 17 D Datacake Core 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too low 18 FrontPup 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 Hamid Pulse Notifications for Telegram and Bale 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 NIS2 Compliance 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 OrioleOne Master Tools — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2 3 too low 22 IP2Location Variables 100+ · 2.3★ (3) wp.org #12 ↓1 10 too high 23 Live Visitor Analytics – Real-Time Visitor Tracking, IP Address & Location — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑1 4 too high 24 Proactive Security Suite 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 7 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.