wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “restrict post”
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 post”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 8 plugins are 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
Membership Plugin – Kadence Memberships shows at wp.org #10 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 8K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.1★ average from 100 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 1281 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (587)
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 
Yoast Duplicate Post 3M+ · 4.7★ (538) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #1 1 too high 3 
Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1236)
wp.org #4 ↑3 1 too low 4 
Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1525)
wp.org #8 ↑1 4 too low 5 
Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80)
wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 
Restrict User Access – Ultimate Membership & Content Protection 10K+ · 4.3★ (94) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #16 ↑4 9 too low 8 
Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too low 9 
Restrict for Elementor 900+ · 4.0★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #3 6 too high 10 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #19 9 too low 11 
Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270)
wp.org #17 ↑1 6 too low 12 
Content Control – The Ultimate Content Restriction Solution! Restrict Content, Create Conditional Blocks & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (575)
wp.org #21 9 too low 13 
Simple Restrict 1K+ · 4.9★ (15) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #7 ↓1 6 too high 14 
Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187)
wp.org #23 9 too low 15 
Display Post Types – Post Grid, post list and post sliders 8K+ · 5.0★ (26) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 4 too high 16 
Restrict – membership, site, content and user access restrictions for WordPress 2K+ · 4.2★ (25)
wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too high 17 
Page Restrict for WooCommerce 700+ · 4.7★ (23) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #9 ↓1 8 too high 18 
kk Star Ratings – Rate Post & Collect User Feedbacks 70K+ · 3.9★ (171)
wp.org #24 6 too low 19 Membership Plugin – Kadence Memberships 8K+ · 3.1★ (100) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #10 9 too high 20 
MB Custom Post Types & Custom Taxonomies 10K+ · 4.7★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↑1 5 too high 21 
Solid Post Likes 500+ · 4.8★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↑1 7 too high 22 
Page and Post Restriction 1K+ · 4.3★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓6 4 too high 23 
Social Post Flow – Social Media Automation, Scheduling, Scheduler, Posting & Auto Post 200+ · 4.2★ (10) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #20 3 too high 24 
Auto Update Post Date 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) not PHP-current thin reviews
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.