wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “protect posts”
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 posts”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 4 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
Protect Admin shows at wp.org #7 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 2K+ 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
Post Views Counter places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 1237 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221)
wp.org #1 2 
PPWP – Password Protect Pages 30K+ · 4.7★ (271)
wp.org #2 3 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint
wp.org #3 4 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #4 ↑1 5 
Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses and Phone Numbers 90K+ · 4.9★ (94)
wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 
Delete Duplicate Posts 10K+ · 4.8★ (153)
wp.org #10 4 too low 7 
All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720)
wp.org #12 ↑2 5 too low 8 Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1237)
wp.org #16 ↑8 8 too low 9 
Protect the Children! 1K+ · 4.9★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #5 ↑1 4 too high 10 
Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) not PHP-current
wp.org #9 1 too high 11 
Prevent Direct Access – Protect WordPress Files 10K+ · 4.6★ (297)
wp.org #13 2 too low 12 
WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1138)
wp.org #17 5 too low 13 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #14 ↓2 1 too low 14 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #20 6 too low 15 
Simple Membership 40K+ · 4.6★ (475) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 ↑5 4 too high 16 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #22 6 too low 17 
Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397)
wp.org #21 ↑2 4 too low 18 
Passster – Password Protect Pages and Content 10K+ · 4.2★ (60) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 ↓4 10 too high 19 
Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157)
wp.org #19 20 
WP Content Copy Protection with Color Design 5K+ · 4.5★ (25)
wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Protect Admin 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #7 ↑1 14 too high 22 
CCI Posts Carousel All In One 2K+ · 4.6★ (27)
wp.org #24 ↓2 2 too low 23 
Protect schema.org markup in HTML editor 700+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #18 5 too high 24 
Auto Post Cleaner 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓2 1 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.