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

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

Tidy Media shows at wp.org #7 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 100+ 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

Security Ninja – WordPress Security & Firewall places #5 on merit, 4.7★ from 101 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #1 2 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #2 ↑2 1 too high 4 NinjaScanner – Virus & Malware scan 40K+ · 4.0★ (36) wp.org #4 ↓2 5 Security Ninja – WordPress Security & Firewall 7K+ · 4.7★ (101) wp.org #10 ↑2 5 too low 6 Anti-Spam Protection – No API Key, GDPR Friendly 1K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #5 ↑2 1 too high 7 Media Hygiene: Remove or Delete Unused Images and More! 4K+ · 4.2★ (41) wp.org #9 ↑2 2 too low 8 Atlant Security 700+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 DevDome Malware Scanner – WordPress Malware Removal & Security Scanner 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 SiteFort Security – Malware Scanner, Firewall, Login Security & Hardening 50+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #18 ↓1 8 too low 11 Erdo Image Optimizer – Image SEO, AI Alt Text, Media Cleanup, WebP & AVIF 10+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 WP Maintenance Mode & Site Under Construction 3K+ · 3.5★ (4) wp.org #8 ↑1 4 too high 13 MoeSec Security – Comprehensive Malware Scanner & Security Suite 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 1 too low 14 Tidy Media 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↑1 7 too high 15 Polanger Admin Suite – Secure, Control & Customize WordPress Admin 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16 WordSec – Malware Scanner & Removal, Web Application Firewall (WAF), and 2FA 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 Ultimate Comment Cleaner – Remove Spam & Unwanted Comments, Delete Comments in Bulk 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too high 18 KaliCart Bridge – Agentic Commerce Catalog, ChatGPT Product Feed & MCP 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 Artiman Guard 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓2 20 BroodWeb Malware Scanner 10+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓1 21 Quarivo Comment Shield 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2 3 too low 22 AMWScan Antimalware Scanner Lite 30+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #15 7 too high 23 PowerSEC – Firewall, Malware Scanner, Login Security & Backup 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 I-PR AVIF Converter – Automatic Image Optimization 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 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.