Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “safe”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 2 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

WP Safe Mode shows at wp.org #5 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 6053 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Safe SVG 1M+ · 4.9★ (79) wp.org #1 2 Safe Redirect Manager 40K+ · 4.7★ (78) wp.org #2 3 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 Htaccess File Editor – Safely Edit Htaccess File 40K+ · 5.0★ (102) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 Advanced Google reCAPTCHA 200K+ · 4.8★ (430) wp.org #13 ↑4 4 too low 10 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 WP Reset 300K+ · 4.8★ (1014) wp.org #16 ↓5 5 too low 12 Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053) wp.org #20 ↑2 8 too low 13 WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1138) wp.org #23 ↓4 10 too low 14 Security Safe 600+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #7 ↓2 7 too high 15 All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (199) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 WP Umbrella: Security Backup Restore & Monitoring 90K+ · 4.8★ (81) wp.org #19 ↓6 2 too low 18 Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703) wp.org #21 ↑2 3 too low 19 AntiVirus 30K+ · 4.1★ (23) wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too high 20 WP Safe Mode 2K+ · 4.3★ (8) wp.org #5 ↓1 15 too high 21 Trash Fail Safe 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 ↓1 12 too high 22 S Safe Report Comments 100+ · 3.0★ (7) wp.org #10 ↓1 12 too high 23 DevDome Media Cleaner: Remove Unused Images & Media Library Cleanup 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↑7 9 too high 24 SitePulse – Performance Monitor, Safe Updates & Site Management 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 6 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.