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

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 media”, 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

AAM Protected Media Files shows at wp.org #2 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 15 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

WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents places #11 on merit, 5.0★ from 195 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. 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 Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (779) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #4 5 Media Library Folders 10K+ · 4.3★ (465) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #16 ↓1 9 too low 8 OG — Better Share on Social Media 20K+ · 4.8★ (216) wp.org #18 10 too low 9 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #20 ↓3 11 too low 10 SEO Media Manager 5K+ · 4.8★ (18) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #24 13 too low 12 EasyMedia – Increase Media Upload File Size | Role-Based Upload Limit | Increase Execution Time 70K+ · 4.9★ (99) wp.org #23 11 too low 13 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #21 ↓2 8 too low 14 WPEPP – Essential Security, Password Protect & Login Page Customizer 3K+ · 4.1★ (19) wp.org #9 5 too high 15 Simple Social Media Share Buttons – Social Sharing for Everyone 20K+ · 4.8★ (194) wp.org #19 ↑1 4 too low 16 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 AAM Protected Media Files 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 15 too high 18 External files in Media Library 500+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #7 11 too high 19 SafeGuard Media Protection 100+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too high 20 Media Export & Clean 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Unattached Media Manager 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 10 too high 22 DevDome Media Cleaner: Remove Unused Images & Media Library Cleanup 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 10 too high 23 Export Media as ZIP 3K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #14 ↓1 9 too high 24 Tidy Media 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↑1 11 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.