wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “restrict groups”
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 “restrict groups”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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
Groups 404 Redirect shows at wp.org #6 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.6★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin places #11 on merit, 4.4★ from 1445 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Groups – Memberships and Access Control 10K+ · 4.8★ (382)
wp.org #1 2 
ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 5K+ · 4.6★ (236)
wp.org #2 3 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #5 2 too low 4 P Private groups 1K+ · 4.9★ (49)
wp.org #3 1 too high 5 
Restrict User Access – Ultimate Membership & Content Protection 10K+ · 4.3★ (94)
wp.org #4 1 too high 6 
Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142)
wp.org #7 1 too low 7 
Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270)
wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too low 8 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too low 9 
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10 
Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406)
wp.org #15 ↑1 5 too low 11 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #21 ↓2 10 too low 12 
Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184)
wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13 
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551)
wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too low 14 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #22 ↓2 8 too low 15 
W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420)
wp.org #23 ↓1 8 too low 16 
ProfilePress – Paid Membership, Online Courses (LMS), Ecommerce, User Registration & Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content 100K+ · 3.1★ (938)
wp.org #14 2 too high 17 Groups 404 Redirect 1K+ · 4.6★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #6 11 too high 18 
Membership Plugin – Kadence Memberships 8K+ · 3.1★ (100)
wp.org #9 ↓1 9 too high 19 
Click to Chat – HoliThemes 600K+ · 4.8★ (131)
wp.org #19 20 
Restrict – membership, site, content and user access restrictions for WordPress 2K+ · 4.2★ (25)
wp.org #10 10 too high 21 
Password Protected 300K+ · 4.4★ (142)
wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too high 22 
Uncanny Toolkit for LearnDash 20K+ · 4.8★ (105)
wp.org #24 ↓1 2 too low 23 
Restrictions for BuddyPress 300+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #13 10 too high 24 
Groups Discount for WooCommerce 60+ · 3.5★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↑1 7 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.