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

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 checks”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login shows at wp.org #9 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.1★ average from 35 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Limit Login Attempts Security – Brute Force Protection, 2FA, Firewall & Login Security places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 1489 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. 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.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040) 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 #6 2 too low 5

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #4 1 too high 6

Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #7 1 too low 7

Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #8 1 too low 8

Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #5 3 too high 9

MalCare WordPress Security Plugin – Malware Scanner, Cleaner, Security Firewall 100K+ · 4.4★ (559) wp.org #11 ↑2 2 too low 10

WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) wp.org #12 ↑4 2 too low 11

Security Ninja – WordPress Security & Firewall 7K+ · 4.7★ (101) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too high 12

Limit Login Attempts Security – Brute Force Protection, 2FA, Firewall & Login Security 1M+ · 4.8★ (1489) wp.org #16 ↓4 4 too low 13

Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #15 ↑6 2 too low 14

Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ · 4.2★ (386) wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too high 15

NinjaFirewall (WP Edition) – Advanced Security Plugin and Firewall 100K+ · 4.9★ (220) wp.org #19 ↑1 4 too low 16

FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #9 ↑2 7 too high 17

Headers Security Advanced & HSTS WP 90K+ · 4.9★ (79) wp.org #20 ↓2 3 too low 18

Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↑1 4 too high 19

Cookies and Content Security Policy 10K+ · 4.9★ (67) wp.org #24 5 too low 20

Log cleaner for Kadence Security 7K+ · 5.0★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #22 1 too low 22

BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓8 4 too high 23

Atlant Security 800+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #17 6 too high 24

CMS ADMINS Security Check Report 400+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too high

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 10M (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.