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← Rankings

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

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 content”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

MAS Static Content shows at wp.org #6 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 10K+ 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

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. 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 WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1138) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Passster – Password Protect Pages and Content 10K+ · 4.2★ (60) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking 20K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #4 5 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #10 ↑1 5 too low 6 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #12 ↑1 6 too low 7 PPWP – Password Protect Pages 30K+ · 4.7★ (271) wp.org #13 ↓3 6 too low 8 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #15 7 too low 9 Protected Video 1K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #5 4 too high 10 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #21 ↑2 11 too low 11 Simple Membership 40K+ · 4.6★ (475) wp.org #11 ↑7 12 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #16 4 too low 13 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #14 1 too low 14 AI Puffer – AI Chatbot & MCP Server for Claude and ChatGPT 10K+ · 4.6★ (166) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 WPEPP – Essential Security, Password Protect & Login Page Customizer 3K+ · 4.1★ (19) wp.org #8 ↑1 7 too high 16 Restrict – membership, site, content and user access restrictions for WordPress 2K+ · 4.2★ (25) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 RPS Include Content 700+ · 4.9★ (18) wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too low 18 Customize Private & Protected: Password Form & Prefix 400+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #9 ↓1 9 too high 19 Membership Plugin – Kadence Memberships 8K+ · 3.1★ (100) wp.org #23 ↑1 4 too low 20 AAM Protected Media Files 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 13 too high 21 MAS Static Content 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 15 too high 22 Content Censor 600+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too high 23 Easy Content Manager (ECM) – Custom Post Types, Custom Fields & Content Management 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Password Protected Site and Store 90+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #18 ↑1 6 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.