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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “secure pdf”

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 “secure pdf”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

PDF for Gravity Forms + Drag And Drop Template Builder shows at wp.org #11 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 874 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 PDF Embedder – PDF Viewer & Embed PDF Files for WordPress 300K+ · 4.7★ (529) wp.org #1 2 Secure Custom Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (69) wp.org #2 3 PDF Builder for WooCommerce. Create invoices,packing slips and more 2K+ · 4.7★ (145) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 B BSK PDF Manager 7K+ · 4.5★ (46) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #14 9 too low 6 PDF Generator for WordPress 1K+ · 4.6★ (39) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too high 7 Generate PDF using Contact Form 7 4K+ · 4.7★ (40) wp.org #7 8 Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591) wp.org #16 8 too low 9 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #24 15 too low 10 Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #19 ↓2 9 too low 11 CopySafe PDF Protection – Copy Protect PDF 300+ · 3.9★ (14) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 User Private Files – Secure File Sharing and Client Portal Plugin 1K+ · 4.4★ (57) wp.org #18 6 too low 13 Flipbook PDF Viewer & Embedder 300+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #8 ↓3 5 too high 14 Paymattic – Secure, Simple Payment & Donation with Subscription Payments, Recurring Donations, Customer Management 3K+ · 4.8★ (44) wp.org #22 ↓1 8 too low 15 Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 PDF for Elementor Forms + Drag And Drop Template Builder 1K+ · 3.9★ (11) wp.org #10 ↓1 6 too high 17 Export WordPress Pages to Static HTML & PDF — Static Site Export 4K+ · 3.8★ (51) wp.org #21 ↓1 4 too low 18 PDF for WPForms + Drag and Drop Template Builder 1K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #9 ↓1 9 too high 19 PDF Invoice for WooCommerce + Drag and Drop Template Builder 500+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #13 ↓2 6 too high 20 Easy Invoice – Invoice Generator, PDF Quotes & Payments 600+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #20 ↓1 21 Custom iFrame – Embed PDFs, Videos, and External Content in WordPress (Elementor & Gutenberg) 4K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #23 ↓1 2 too low 22 PDF for Contact Form 7 + Drag and Drop Template Builder 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 ↓2 7 too high 23 PDF for Gravity Forms + Drag And Drop Template Builder 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #11 ↓1 12 too high 24 TNC FlipBook 3D – PDF Flipbook, 3D Flipbook, PDF Viewer, PDF Embedder 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓2 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.