Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “security checker”

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

WP-Cron Status Checker shows at wp.org #10 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Loginizer places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 1033 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) wp.org #1 2 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #2 3 Security Ninja – WordPress Security & Firewall 7K+ · 4.7★ (101) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ · 4.2★ (386) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 Equalize Digital Accessibility Checker – WCAG, ADA, EAA and Section 508 compliance 10K+ · 4.9★ (80) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Broken Link Checker by AIOSEO – Find & Fix Broken Internal, External & Video Links 200K+ · 3.8★ (87) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Anti-Malware Security and Brute-Force Firewall 100K+ · 4.9★ (783) wp.org #16 ↓1 9 too low 8 SmartCrawl SEO checker, analyzer & optimizer 10K+ · 4.8★ (171) wp.org #17 ↑1 9 too low 9 BBQ Firewall – Fast & Powerful Firewall Security 100K+ · 4.9★ (160) wp.org #20 ↓3 11 too low 10 Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) wp.org #23 13 too low 11 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #21 ↑2 10 too low 12 Plugin Compatibility Checker 9K+ · 4.2★ (12) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 Unique Title Checker 900+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 Link Checker 4K+ · 3.2★ (30) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 Security Header Generator 400+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 iNext Woo Pincode Checker 600+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 PHP Compatibility Checker 200K+ · 2.7★ (131) wp.org #18 ↑1 1 too low 18 WP-Cron Status Checker 5K+ · 3.5★ (8) wp.org #10 8 too high 19 BD Courier Order Ratio Checker 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 Kadence Central – Site Management, Backups, Security, and Reporting 30K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #14 ↑2 6 too high 21 Integrity Checker 200+ · 4.8★ (6) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Unused Media Checker 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too high 23 Security Checker for Themes 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑1 4 too high 24 Nexura Security — Malware Scanner, Firewall, 2FA & WordPress Security 20+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #24

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.