wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “security check failed”
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 “security check failed”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20.
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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Atlant Security shows at wp.org #13 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 800+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 4940 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
How this rank is calculated
Each plugin's merit score multiplies these inputs together: how recently it was updated, how current its "tested up to" WordPress version is, its install base (log scale, capped at 10 million), its support thread resolution rate, and a rating score. The rating score weights the star average by review volume against a sitewide prior, then scales it by the lower bound of the share of 4 and 5 star reviews. A plugin with 3.7 stars from tens of thousands of reviews can still outscore a 4.9 with a few dozen, because the small sample carries less certainty.
A health factor between 0.4 and 1.15 then adjusts that score for what wp.org's search can't see: PHP fatals or failed activations on a test install, PHP and WordPress compatibility, memory and page-speed footprint, suspicious review patterns, closure risk, and a large install base with very few reviews. Clean, adopted plugins earn a small lift.
A keyword ranking starts from wp.org's search order for the term, weighting each position by 1 divided by its place, then applies the merit correction and health factor above. Relevance to the keyword stays in the result, so the order can differ from the all-categories list on /best, which scores plugins with no search term.
Hover a row to see the main reason for its position.
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5042)
wp.org #1 2 
All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720)
wp.org #2 3 
Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (398)
wp.org #3 4 
Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8870)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #4 2 too high 7 
Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334)
wp.org #7 8 
Limit Login Attempts Security – Brute Force Protection, 2FA, Firewall & Login Security 1M+ · 4.8★ (1489)
wp.org #10 ↓2 2 too low 9 
Check & Log Email – Easy Email Testing & Mail logging 90K+ · 4.8★ (292)
wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too low 10 
Security Ninja – WordPress Security & Firewall 7K+ · 4.7★ (101)
wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too high 11 
Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ · 4.2★ (386)
wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too low 12 Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940)
wp.org #19 ↓1 7 too low 13 
WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5210)
wp.org #20 7 too low 14 
Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373)
wp.org #16 ↑5 2 too low 15 
Anti-Malware Security and Brute-Force Firewall 100K+ · 4.9★ (783)
wp.org #24 9 too low 16 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (411)
wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too low 17 
FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35)
wp.org #8 ↑1 9 too high 18 
Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033)
wp.org #21 ↑2 3 too low 19 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #22 3 too low 20 
Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #15 5 too high 21 
WP Umbrella: Security Backup Restore & Monitoring 90K+ · 4.8★ (81)
wp.org #23 ↓1 2 too low 22 
BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓3 8 too high 23 Atlant Security 800+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↑1 10 too high 24 
CMS ADMINS Security Check Report 400+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↓1 7 too high Merit ranking caps the install boost at 10M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted 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.