wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “role access”
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 “role access”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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
User Role by BestWebSoft – Add and Customize Roles and Capabilities in WordPress shows at wp.org #16 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.6★ average from 12 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 27821 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288)
wp.org #1 2 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 90K+ · 4.7★ (143)
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
WP Data Access – App Builder for Tables, Forms, Dashboards, Charts & Maps 10K+ · 4.9★ (88)
wp.org #4 5 
Access Governance for WordPress (aka AAM) 100K+ · 4.2★ (420)
wp.org #5 6 
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #10 4 too low 7 
Controlled Admin Access 10K+ · 4.8★ (45)
wp.org #6 1 too high 8 
User Access Manager 10K+ · 4.4★ (112)
wp.org #7 1 too high 9 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519)
wp.org #14 5 too low 10 
Prevent Direct Access – Protect WordPress Files 10K+ · 4.6★ (297)
wp.org #12 2 too low 11 
WPFront User Role Editor 30K+ · 4.5★ (65)
wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #18 ↑2 6 too low 13 
Restricted Site Access 10K+ · 4.8★ (62)
wp.org #9 4 too high 14 
Nav Menu Roles 70K+ · 4.9★ (219)
wp.org #13 ↑5 1 too high 15 
Remove Dashboard Access 30K+ · 4.6★ (78)
wp.org #11 4 too high 16 
TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #23 ↓2 7 too low 17 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #22 5 too low 18 
Groups – Memberships and Access Control 10K+ · 4.8★ (382)
wp.org #24 6 too low 19 
Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current
wp.org #19 ↓6 20 
Restrict User Access – Ultimate Membership & Content Protection 10K+ · 4.3★ (94) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 5 too high 21 
Prevent Files / Folders Access 1K+ · 4.6★ (35)
wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too high 22 
Admin Bar Editor – Toolbar Customization with User Role based access & Custom menus 3K+ · 4.4★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↑2 1 too high 23 User Role by BestWebSoft – Add and Customize Roles and Capabilities in WordPress 3K+ · 3.6★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #16 7 too high 24 
Custom Access Roles 200+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #17 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.