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← Rankings

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

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 “protected”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 17 of the top 20. 2 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

AAM Protected Media Files shows at wp.org #4 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 3220 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Password Protected 300K+ · 4.4★ (142) wp.org #1 2 Protected Video 1K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #2 3 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #12 ↓4 8 too low 5 Loco Translate 1M+ · 4.8★ (453) wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too low 6 Force Login 30K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #11 ↑3 5 too low 7 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #20 ↓5 13 too low 8 PPWP – Password Protect Pages 30K+ · 4.7★ (271) wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too low 9 Simple Membership 40K+ · 4.6★ (475) wp.org #10 ↑10 1 too low 10 Backuply – Backup, Restore, Migrate and Clone 600K+ · 4.5★ (135) wp.org #13 ↑9 3 too low 11 Prevent Direct Access – Protect WordPress Files 10K+ · 4.6★ (297) wp.org #22 ↓1 11 too low 12 Email Address Encoder 100K+ · 4.2★ (160) wp.org #16 ↓4 4 too low 13 hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88) wp.org #17 4 too low 14 WPEPP – Essential Security, Password Protect & Login Page Customizer 3K+ · 4.1★ (19) wp.org #7 7 too high 15 Mercado Pago payments for WooCommerce 100K+ · 3.9★ (693) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too low 16 H Hidden Password Protected Pages 600+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 13 too high 17 Customize Private & Protected: Password Form & Prefix 400+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #5 12 too high 18 Passster – Password Protect Pages and Content 10K+ · 4.2★ (60) wp.org #15 ↓4 3 too high 19 Protect Uploads 30K+ · 4.8★ (12) wp.org #23 ↓6 4 too low 20 AAM Protected Media Files 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 16 too high 21 LukasApps CAPTCHA tools for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.1★ (48) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 WP Basic Authentication 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too high 23 Password Protected Site and Store 90+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #9 ↑1 14 too high 24 W wpShopGermany – Protected Shops 20+ · 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.