Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “member”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

WPCOM Member shows at wp.org #9 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 1K+ 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

TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy places #8 on merit, 5.0★ from 4625 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #1 2 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #2 3 Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270) wp.org #3 4 WP-Members Membership Plugin 50K+ · 4.6★ (272) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #7 ↑10 2 too low 6 Simple Membership 40K+ · 4.6★ (475) wp.org #5 ↑7 1 too high 7 Team – Team Members Showcase Plugin 10K+ · 4.5★ (67) wp.org #6 ↑6 1 too high 8 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #15 ↑8 7 too low 9 Team Members – Multi Language Supported Team Plugin 6K+ · 5.0★ (85) wp.org #10 ↓3 1 too low 10 UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP 20K+ · 4.7★ (183) wp.org #14 ↓2 4 too low 11 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #18 ↓3 7 too low 12 Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #16 ↓8 4 too low 13 Team Members Showcase 4K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #11 ↓2 2 too high 14 WP User Manager – Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile Builder & Member Directory 10K+ · 4.7★ (350) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 Team Members 20K+ · 4.2★ (53) wp.org #20 ↓4 5 too low 16 s2Member – Excellent for All Kinds of Memberships, Content Restriction Paywalls & Member Access Subscriptions 8K+ · 4.1★ (234) wp.org #21 ↓1 5 too low 17 CiviCRM Member Sync 800+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 ↑9 5 too high 18 Team Member Block 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↓2 10 too high 19 Login Widget for Ultimate Member 600+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #19 ↓1 20 WPCOM Member 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↓5 11 too high 21 MemberKits – Ultimate Member for Elementor 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓3 8 too high 22 Team Builder Member Showcase 1K+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #17 ↓3 5 too high 23 U UserElements Member Export for Ultimate Member 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 WP Team – WordPress Team Member Plugin 500+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #23 ↓1 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.