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

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 “malicious”, 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

Advanced IP Blocker shows at wp.org #10 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.9★ average from 27 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint wp.org #1 2

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

Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too high 4

Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1489) wp.org #4 5

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #5 1 too high 7

Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection 5M+ · 4.7★ (1187) wp.org #7 ↓1 8

Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #8 ↓1 9

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too low 10

Anti-Malware Security and Brute-Force Firewall 100K+ · 4.9★ (783) wp.org #13 ↓2 3 too low 11

Jetpack Protect 100K+ · 4.6★ (123) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too high 12

Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) not PHP-current wp.org #12 ↑1 13

File Manager Pro – Filester 100K+ · 4.9★ (155) wp.org #18 ↑6 5 too low 14

Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too high 15

Security Ninja – WordPress Security & Firewall 7K+ · 4.7★ (101) wp.org #15 ↓1 16

MalCare WordPress Security Plugin – Malware Scanner, Cleaner, Security Firewall 100K+ · 4.4★ (559) wp.org #23 7 too low 17

Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ · 4.2★ (386) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #14 ↓2 3 too high 18

oopspam Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for WordPress Forms & Comments (No CAPTCHA) 6K+ · 4.9★ (51) wp.org #21 ↓2 3 too low 19

Zero Spam for WordPress 20K+ · 4.1★ (143) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #16 ↑1 3 too high 20

WP SVG Images 30K+ · 5.0★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↓2 3 too high 21

Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #22 1 too low 22

Quttera ThreatSign – Web Malware Scanner for WordPress 10K+ · 3.9★ (47) not PHP-current wp.org #19 ↓3 3 too high 23

Enable Turnstile (Cloudflare) for Gravity Forms 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓3 1 too low 24

UsersWP – ReCaptcha 3K+ · 4.5★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓2 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.