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← Rankings

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

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 “privileges”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

Xelion Webchat shows at wp.org #15 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 90+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Reset places #4 on merit, 4.8★ from 1014 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Access Governance for WordPress (aka AAM) 100K+ · 4.2★ (420) wp.org #1 2 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #2 3 Simple Local Avatars 100K+ · 4.6★ (89) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 WP Reset 300K+ · 4.8★ (1014) wp.org #9 ↓1 5 too low 5 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #3 ↑1 2 too high 6 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Maintenance & Coming Soon Redirect Animation 3K+ · 5.0★ (34) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 Maintenance Redirect 10K+ · 4.9★ (24) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Login as User: See the Site as Any User 30K+ · 4.8★ (41) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too high 11 Restrict User Access – Ultimate Membership & Content Protection 10K+ · 4.3★ (94) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 MyCryptoCheckout – Bitcoin, Ethereum, and 100+ altcoins for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.3★ (49) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 Maintenance Mode 8K+ · 4.6★ (14) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Disk Usage Insights 1K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 MembershipWorks – Membership, Events & Directory 2K+ · 4.4★ (37) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 Order Delivery Date And Time 1K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too low 17 Hide Price Until Login 1K+ · 3.5★ (24) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 Agent Abilities for MCP – Connect Claude and ChatGPT with Permission Controls and Audit Log 800+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 WP-Orphanage Extended 100+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #23 ↓2 4 too low 20 B BU Section Editing 50+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Comment Blacklist Updater 800+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too low 22 Database Access with Adminer 1K+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓2 5 too high 23 Xelion Webchat 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓3 8 too high 24 Fabrica Dashboard 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓2 3 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.