wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “protect wordpress admin”
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 wordpress admin”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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
Protect Admin shows at wp.org #8 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 10 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
Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 8869 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. 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★ (3220)
wp.org #1 2 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #2 3 
TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625)
wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too low 4 
Jetpack Protect 100K+ · 4.6★ (123)
wp.org #3 1 too high 5 
PPWP – Password Protect Pages 30K+ · 4.7★ (271)
wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 
Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859)
wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too low 7 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current
wp.org #7 8 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint
wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too low 9 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #14 ↑5 5 too low 10 
Protect Uploads 30K+ · 4.8★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #4 6 too high 11 
WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184)
wp.org #12 ↑3 1 too low 12 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869)
wp.org #19 7 too low 13 
Prevent Direct Access – Protect WordPress Files 10K+ · 4.6★ (297)
wp.org #15 ↑2 2 too low 14 
Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses and Phone Numbers 90K+ · 4.9★ (94)
wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too high 15 
Protect WP Admin 10K+ · 3.6★ (50)
wp.org #10 ↑1 5 too high 16 
Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) not PHP-current
wp.org #20 4 too low 17 
View Admin As 9K+ · 4.9★ (49)
wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Protect Admin 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #8 10 too high 19 
Protect the Children! 1K+ · 4.9★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #17 2 too high 20 
Passster – Password Protect Pages and Content 10K+ · 4.2★ (60) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 ↓5 2 too high 21 
All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35)
wp.org #22 ↓6 1 too low 22 
Protect Login 700+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↑2 6 too high 23 
AI Scrape Protect 400+ · 4.7★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #21 2 too high 24 
Simple Password Protect 500+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #23 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.