wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “protect download”
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 download”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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
PDF Password Protect shows at wp.org #15 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 200+ 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
Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery places #12 on merit, 4.3★ from 4,342 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.
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.
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3,224)
wp.org #1 2 
PPWP – Password Protect Pages 30K+ · 4.7★ (271)
wp.org #3 ↑1 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 3 
Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (592)
wp.org #4 ↑1 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 4 
Simple Download Monitor 20K+ · 4.7★ (158)
wp.org #5 ↓2 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 5 
Protect Uploads 30K+ · 4.8★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #2 wp.org ranks it 3 places above merit 6 
Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262)
wp.org #7 ↑2 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 7 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2,409)
wp.org #6 ↑2 wp.org ranks it 1 place above merit 8 
All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1,720)
wp.org #10 ↑9 wp.org ranks it 2 places below merit 9 
Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses and Phone Numbers 90K+ · 4.9★ (94)
wp.org #9 ↓2 10 
Prevent Direct Access – Protect WordPress Files 10K+ · 4.6★ (297)
wp.org #12 wp.org ranks it 2 places below merit 11 
Advanced Google reCAPTCHA 200K+ · 4.8★ (430)
wp.org #14 ↑2 wp.org ranks it 3 places below merit 12 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery 300K+ · 4.3★ (4,342)
wp.org #17 wp.org ranks it 5 places below merit 13 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4,940)
wp.org #16 ↓3 wp.org ranks it 3 places below merit 14 
Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8,870)
wp.org #21 ↑1 wp.org ranks it 7 places below merit 15 
Passster – Password Protect Pages and Content 10K+ · 4.2★ (60)
wp.org #8 ↑2 wp.org ranks it 7 places above merit 16 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1,281)
wp.org #24 ↓6 wp.org ranks it 8 places below merit 17 
Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (398)
wp.org #22 wp.org ranks it 5 places below merit 18 
Protect WP Admin 10K+ · 3.6★ (50)
wp.org #11 wp.org ranks it 7 places above merit 19 
Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (158)
wp.org #23 wp.org ranks it 4 places below merit 20 
Quick Download Button 1K+ · 4.6★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↑1 wp.org ranks it 7 places above merit 21 
CM Download Manager – Organize, Protect & Share Files in WordPress 100+ · 3.9★ (43)
wp.org #20 ↑3 wp.org ranks it 1 place above merit 22 
Download List Block with Icons 400+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↑2 wp.org ranks it 4 places above merit 23 
Bulk Download for Gravity Forms 500+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↑2 wp.org ranks it 4 places above merit 24 PDF Password Protect 200+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #15 wp.org ranks it 9 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.