wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “stop bots”

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 “stop bots”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Bot Traffic Shield – Block Bad Bots and Stop AI Bots Crawlers shows at wp.org #5 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 800+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 1039 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint wp.org #1 2

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #3 1 too low 3

Blackhole for Bad Bots 30K+ · 4.7★ (148) wp.org #2 1 too high 4

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #4 5

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #6 1 too low 6

Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #7 1 too low 7

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning 30K+ · 4.8★ (1039) wp.org #12 ↓2 5 too low 8

Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #9 1 too low 9

Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1488) wp.org #11 ↓3 2 too low 10

WP Armour – Honeypot Anti Spam 400K+ · 5.0★ (1471) wp.org #14 ↑1 4 too low 11

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too low 12

Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #8 ↑4 4 too high 13

Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #19 6 too low 14

Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #22 ↓1 8 too low 15

Bot Traffic Shield – Block Bad Bots and Stop AI Bots Crawlers 800+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #5 10 too high 16

Better Robots.txt – AI-Ready Crawl Control & Bot Governance 5K+ · 4.5★ (102) wp.org #23 ↑1 7 too low 17

Limit Attempts by BestWebSoft – WordPress Anti-Bot and Security Plugin for Login and Forms 4K+ · 4.6★ (37) wp.org #21 ↓1 4 too low 18

Safe SVG 1M+ · 4.9★ (79) host-installed base wp.org #24 6 too low 19

Checkout Shield for WooCommerce – Stop Fake Orders, Spam Bots & Card Testing 400+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↑1 9 too high 20

Telegram Bot & Channel 500+ · 4.8★ (22) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #20 ↑2 21

Geeky Bot – AI Chatbot & Sales Assistant for WooCommerce 6K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #17 4 too high 22

Stop Search Spam 70+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #13 9 too high 23

CloudFilt Bot & Spam Protection 500+ · 4.5★ (4) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #16 7 too high 24

EDH Bad Bots 50+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #18 6 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.