wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “margin protection”
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 “margin protection”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 3 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
Passster – Password Protect Pages and Content shows at wp.org #10 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 60 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Gravity Booster – Styles & Layouts for Gravity Forms places #12 on merit, 4.6★ from 199 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1138)
wp.org #1 2 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current
wp.org #2 3 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 
Strong Testimonials 80K+ · 4.8★ (614)
wp.org #4 ↑2 5 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #5 6 
Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) not PHP-current
wp.org #6 ↑10 7 
PublishPress Blocks – Block Controls, Block Visibility, Block Permissions 20K+ · 4.7★ (204)
wp.org #7 ↑2 8 
Envira Gallery – Image Photo Gallery, Albums, Video Gallery, Slideshows & More 100K+ · 4.7★ (1597)
wp.org #12 ↓4 4 too low 9 
User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832)
wp.org #16 ↑1 7 too low 10 
Mailonix – Email Template Customizer for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (105) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 ↑2 2 too high 11 
Quads Ads Manager for Google AdSense 20K+ · 4.9★ (1087) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too low 12 Gravity Booster – Styles & Layouts for Gravity Forms 30K+ · 4.6★ (199)
wp.org #20 ↑4 8 too low 13 
OneClick Chat to Order 30K+ · 4.8★ (84) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too high 14 
Simply Static – The Static Site Generator 30K+ · 4.5★ (195)
wp.org #22 ↓2 8 too low 15 
Ultimate Post List 2K+ · 4.6★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #9 ↑2 6 too high 16 
Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 50K+ · 3.7★ (59)
wp.org #13 3 too high 17 
Beautiful Cookie Consent Banner 40K+ · 4.5★ (95)
wp.org #21 ↓2 4 too low 18 Passster – Password Protect Pages and Content 10K+ · 4.2★ (60) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #10 ↓3 8 too high 19 
ThumbPress – Compress Images, Manage Thumbnails, Detect Image Issues, WebP/AVIF, Lazy Loading, Hotlinking & More 20K+ · 3.7★ (117)
wp.org #19 ↑2 20 
EU Cookies Bar for WordPress 9K+ · 4.8★ (26)
wp.org #18 2 too high 21 
Gutena Forms – Contact Form, Survey Form, Feedback Form, Booking Form, and Custom Form Builder 20K+ · 4.5★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↑1 7 too high 22 
Zoho Flow – No-Code Workflow Automation 5K+ · 5.0★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #17 5 too high 23 
Easy Google Adsense and Banner Ads Manager – AdsforWP 1K+ · 4.6★ (43) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #23 24 
Click To Copy – Copy Text or Code to Clipboard Instantly 900+ · 5.0★ (2) 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.