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

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 message”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Simple Membership Custom Messages shows at wp.org #8 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 7K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 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 #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 8869 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. 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 ↑9 2

Spam Protection | Maspik 30K+ · 4.7★ (87) wp.org #2 3

Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #5 ↑2 2 too low 4

Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection 5M+ · 4.7★ (1187) wp.org #4 ↑1 5

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040) wp.org #6 1 too low 6

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #12 ↓11 5 too low 8

WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1139) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too low 9

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #15 ↑2 6 too low 10

Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking 20K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too high 11

Disabled Source, Disabled Right Click and Content Protection 10K+ · 4.9★ (103) wp.org #10 ↑4 1 too high 12

WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection 10K+ · 4.6★ (213) wp.org #13 1 too low 13

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #18 ↑2 5 too low 14

Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #17 ↑1 3 too low 15

Simple Membership 40K+ · 4.6★ (475) wp.org #19 4 too low 16

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too high 17

Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #20 3 too low 18

Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1489) wp.org #22 ↓7 4 too low 19

ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #9 ↑2 10 too high 20

WP Content Copy Protection with Color Design 5K+ · 4.5★ (25) wp.org #16 4 too high 21

WooCommerce PayPal Payments 800K+ · 2.9★ (583) wp.org #21 22 S Simple Membership Custom Messages 7K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #8 ↑1 14 too high 23

eDarpan: Website Protection 200+ · 3.8★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓5 1 too low 24

DevDome Bot Protection: Bot Blocker and AI Crawler Control 200+ · 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.