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

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 “protection”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments shows at wp.org #10 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.9★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 1039 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 signals wp.org

Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #1 ↑3 2

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint wp.org #2 ↑1 3

Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #3 ↑3 4

Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection 5M+ · 4.7★ (1187) wp.org #4 ↓2 5

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #7 ↓6 2 too low 6

Spam Protection | Maspik 30K+ · 4.7★ (87) wp.org #6 ↓1 7

WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1138) wp.org #11 4 too low 8

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #13 ↑2 4 too low 10

Disabled Source, Disabled Right Click and Content Protection 10K+ · 4.9★ (103) wp.org #9 ↑3 1 too high 11

Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking 20K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too high 12

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning 30K+ · 4.8★ (1039) wp.org #20 ↓3 8 too low 13

WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection 10K+ · 4.6★ (213) wp.org #14 1 too low 14

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #12 ↓2 2 too high 15

Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #16 ↓3 1 too low 16

Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1488) wp.org #17 ↓9 1 too low 17

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #21 ↓1 4 too low 18

ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↑4 8 too high 19

Titan Anti-spam & Security – Brute Force Protection, 2FA & Spam Filter 50K+ · 4.5★ (370) not PHP-current wp.org #23 ↓5 4 too low 20

WP Content Copy Protection with Color Design 5K+ · 4.5★ (25) wp.org #19 ↓3 1 too high 21

WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #18 3 too high 22

OpenPorte Spam Protection 500+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #24 2 too low 23

ClickCease Click Fraud Protection 10K+ · 3.0★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #15 8 too high 24

Image Protection 200+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓3 2 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.