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

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 “permission”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Agent Abilities for MCP – Connect Claude and ChatGPT with Permission Controls and Audit Log shows at wp.org #8 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 800+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 8869 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #1 ↑1 2

PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 90K+ · 4.7★ (143) wp.org #2 ↓1 3

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #5 2 too low 4

PublishPress Blocks – Block Controls, Block Visibility, Block Permissions 20K+ · 4.7★ (204) wp.org #4 5

PublishPress Permissions: Access Control, Content Permissions, User Access 10K+ · 4.3★ (66) wp.org #3 2 too high 6

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7

Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too high 8

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #13 ↑4 5 too low 9

Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703) wp.org #12 3 too low 10

Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current wp.org #10 11

WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #15 ↑1 4 too low 12

Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312) wp.org #17 ↓4 5 too low 13

User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288) wp.org #16 ↓1 3 too low 14

Schedule Post Changes With PublishPress Future: Unpublish, Delete, Change Status, Trash, Change Categories 100K+ · 4.5★ (172) wp.org #18 ↓7 4 too low 15

Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #9 ↑1 6 too high 16

Stop User Enumeration 60K+ · 4.9★ (132) wp.org #22 6 too low 17

SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356) wp.org #21 4 too low 18

PublishPress Revisions: Duplicate Posts, Submit, Approve and Schedule Content Changes 10K+ · 4.6★ (66) wp.org #23 5 too low 19

Co-Authors, Multiple Authors and Guest Authors in an Author Box with PublishPress Authors 20K+ · 4.9★ (114) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #19 20

WPFront User Role Editor 30K+ · 4.5★ (65) wp.org #24 ↓2 4 too low 21

Agent Abilities for MCP – Connect Claude and ChatGPT with Permission Controls and Audit Log 800+ · 4.8★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #8 13 too high 22

Reset file and folder permissions 200+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓2 11 too high 23

Forum Permissions bbPress 60+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓2 3 too high 24

MCRPD Regenerate Download Permissions for woocommerce 80+ · 4.7★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #14 10 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.