wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “page restrictions”
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 “page restrictions”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20.
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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
WP User Profile Restriction shows at wp.org #13 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager places #4 on merit, 5.0★ from 1,527 reviews, but shows at wp.org #9. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
How this rank is calculated
Each plugin's merit score multiplies these inputs together: how recently it was updated, how current its "tested up to" WordPress version is, its install base (log scale, capped at 10 million), its support thread resolution rate, and a rating score. The rating score weights the star average by review volume against a sitewide prior, then scales it by the lower bound of the share of 4 and 5 star reviews. A plugin with 3.7 stars from tens of thousands of reviews can still outscore a 4.9 with a few dozen, because the small sample carries less certainty.
A health factor between 0.4 and 1.15 then adjusts that score for what wp.org's search can't see: PHP fatals or failed activations on a test install, PHP and WordPress compatibility, memory and page-speed footprint, suspicious review patterns, closure risk, and a large install base with very few reviews. Clean, adopted plugins earn a small lift.
A keyword ranking starts from wp.org's search order for the term, weighting each position by 1 divided by its place, then applies the merit correction and health factor above. Relevance to the keyword stays in the result, so the order can differ from the all-categories list on /best, which scores plugins with no search term.
Hover a row to see the main reason for its position.
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1,445)
wp.org #1 2 
Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270)
wp.org #2 3 
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4,833)
wp.org #5 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 2 places below merit 4 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1,527)
wp.org #9 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 5 places below merit 5 
User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832)
wp.org #8 ↑2 wp.org ranks it 3 places below merit 6 
PPWP – Password Protect Pages 30K+ · 4.7★ (271)
wp.org #7 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 7 
Country Based Restrictions for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.5★ (52)
wp.org #4 ↑1 wp.org ranks it 3 places above merit 8 
Page and Post Restriction 1K+ · 4.3★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #3 wp.org ranks it 5 places above merit 9 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2,617)
wp.org #12 wp.org ranks it 3 places below merit 10 
Simple Page Access Restriction 6K+ · 4.9★ (32)
wp.org #6 wp.org ranks it 4 places above merit 11 
Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4,962)
wp.org #15 wp.org ranks it 4 places below merit 12 
User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission 20K+ · 4.1★ (537)
wp.org #14 wp.org ranks it 2 places below merit 13 
Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer 400K+ · 4.5★ (81)
wp.org #10 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 3 places above merit 14 
Brizy – Page Builder 60K+ · 4.7★ (972)
wp.org #21 ↑1 wp.org ranks it 7 places below merit 15 
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #22 ↑2 wp.org ranks it 7 places below merit 16 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1,281)
wp.org #24 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 8 places below merit 17 
Gutenberg Essential Blocks – Page Builder for Gutenberg Blocks & Patterns 100K+ · 4.9★ (216)
wp.org #19 ↓3 wp.org ranks it 2 places below merit 18 
Login IP & Country Restriction 8K+ · 4.6★ (52)
wp.org #11 wp.org ranks it 7 places above merit 19 
All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7,676)
wp.org #23 ↓6 wp.org ranks it 4 places below merit 20 
Mongoose Page Plugin 10K+ · 4.6★ (64)
wp.org #16 ↑2 wp.org ranks it 4 places above merit 21 
Smooth Page Scroll Up/Down Buttons 2K+ · 5.0★ (21) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↑1 wp.org ranks it 1 place above merit 22 WP User Profile Restriction 500+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #13 wp.org ranks it 9 places above merit 23 
Restrictions for BuddyPress 300+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↑2 wp.org ranks it 5 places above merit 24 
SureMembers – Membership & Content Restriction Plugin 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↑2 wp.org ranks it 7 places above merit Merit ranking caps the install boost at 10M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted 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.