Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “proxy blocker”

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 “proxy blocker”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

Fense Block Vpn & Proxy shows at wp.org #4 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 70+ 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

oopspam Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for WordPress Forms & Comments (No CAPTCHA) places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 51 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Proxy & VPN Blocker 1K+ · 3.8★ (33) wp.org #1 2 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #2 3 IP2Location Country Blocker 30K+ · 4.1★ (128) wp.org #3 4 IP Location Block 10K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #8 ↑2 4 too low 5 PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281) wp.org #16 ↓1 11 too low 6 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 oopspam Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for WordPress Forms & Comments (No CAPTCHA) 6K+ · 4.9★ (51) wp.org #19 ↓3 12 too low 8 Plausible Analytics 10K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #18 ↓4 10 too low 9 CAOS | Host Google Analytics Locally 10K+ · 4.9★ (128) wp.org #21 12 too low 10 Zero Spam for WordPress 20K+ · 4.1★ (143) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 FAZ Cookie Manager 3K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #24 13 too low 12 VPN Guard – Block VPN, Proxy, Bots & Anonymous Visitors 200+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #12 ↓4 13 Trace My IP – Visitor IP Tracker, Stats Analytics & Page Views Counter with Email Alerts 1K+ · 4.5★ (21) wp.org #15 ↓3 2 too low 14 WorkflowDone Geo Blocker 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 ↓1 7 too high 15 Stape Conversion Tracking 10K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 ↓3 5 too high 16 WPEPP – Essential Security, Password Protect & Login Page Customizer 3K+ · 4.1★ (19) wp.org #20 ↓1 4 too low 17 Easy IP Blocker 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 12 too high 18 Fense Block Vpn & Proxy 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 14 too high 19 Registration Email Blocker 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↑7 13 too high 20 Country Block – Ultimate Geo-Blocker, IP Ban & Login Security 100+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #22 ↓2 2 too low 21 Invalid Traffic Blocker 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 12 too high 22 DevDome Country Blocker: Geo Blocking, GeoIP Block 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↑4 8 too high 23 Access Defender – Advanced VPN & Proxy Blocker 40+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓4 10 too high 24 My Agile Pixel® – Self-Hosted Server-Side Tracking for WordPress 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓1 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.