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Honest rankings: “security”

WordPress.org search rewards raw install count with no ceiling, so the biggest install bases float to the top regardless of quality signals. Here's what searchers actually see, next to a merit ranking that caps the install factor and weights ratings by review volume. How this works →

Install-weight distortion

CloudSecure WP Security sits at wp.org #16 but earns only #24 on merit , 97% of its ranking comes from install count alone, on 100K+ installs at just 5.0★.

Buried gem

Anti-Malware Security and Brute-Force Firewall deserves #6 on merit but wp.org shows it at #24 , 4.9★ from 784 reviews, buried by lower-quality plugins with bigger install counts.

wp.org merit plugin Δ
1 #2 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (4948) +1 2 #3 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1708) +1 3 #9 Jetpack – WP Security, Backup, Speed, & Growth 3M+ · 3.8★ (2402) +6 4 #1 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8847) -3 5 — #5 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3987) 0 6 #13 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 30K+ · 4.8★ (384) +7 7 #4 Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.9★ (1467) -3 8 #12 Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (155) +4 9 #10 Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) +1 10 #15 Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ · 4.2★ (384) +5 11 — #11 MalCare WordPress Security Plugin – Malware Scanner, Cleaner, Security Firewall 200K+ · 4.4★ (534) 0 12 #8 BulletProof Security 20K+ · 4.8★ (674) -4 13 #14 NinjaFirewall (WP Edition) – Advanced Security Plugin and Firewall 100K+ · 4.9★ (220) +1 14 #20 XO Security 30K+ · 5.0★ (11) +6 15 #16 WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) +1 16 #24 CloudSecure WP Security 100K+ · 5.0★ (2) +8 17 #7 WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (480) -10 18 #22 FluentAuth – The Ultimate Authorization & Security Plugin for WordPress 10K+ · 4.0★ (30) +4 19 #23 BotBlocker Security – Firewall & Bot Protection 3K+ · 5.0★ (9) +4 20 #21 Wordfence Login Security 60K+ · 3.9★ (26) +1 21 #18 Headers Security Advanced & HSTS WP 90K+ · 4.9★ (78) -3 22 #17 Security Ninja – WordPress Security & Firewall 7K+ · 4.6★ (99) -5 23 #19 Login Security Captcha 10K+ · 4.9★ (20) -4 24 #6 Anti-Malware Security and Brute-Force Firewall 100K+ · 4.9★ (784) -18

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.