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

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 “protect”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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 #9 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 10 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

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 #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #1 2

Jetpack Protect 100K+ · 4.6★ (123) wp.org #2 3

PPWP – Password Protect Pages 30K+ · 4.7★ (271) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) heavy footprint wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5

Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) not PHP-current wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6

Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses and Phone Numbers 90K+ · 4.9★ (94) wp.org #7 1 too low 7

Protect Uploads 30K+ · 4.8★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #3 4 too high 8

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #17 ↑6 9 too low 9

Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #8 ↑2 1 too high 10

Password Protected 300K+ · 4.4★ (142) wp.org #10 ↑4 11

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #16 ↓5 5 too low 12

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too low 13

Prevent Direct Access – Protect WordPress Files 10K+ · 4.6★ (297) wp.org #19 6 too low 14

Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #23 ↓5 9 too low 15

Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1488) wp.org #22 ↓13 7 too low 16

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #24 ↓2 8 too low 17

Protect the Children! 1K+ · 4.9★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↑10 7 too high 19

Passster – Password Protect Pages and Content 10K+ · 4.2★ (60) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #9 ↓1 10 too high 20

Protect WP Admin 10K+ · 3.6★ (50) wp.org #21 ↓4 1 too low 21

Protect Admin 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #12 ↑1 9 too high 22

Protect Login 700+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓1 9 too high 23

AI Scrape Protect 400+ · 4.7★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↑2 5 too high 24

Simple Password Protect 500+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #20 4 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.