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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “suspicious admin”

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 “suspicious admin”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Polanger Admin Suite – Secure, Control & Customize WordPress Admin shows at wp.org #10 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 40+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Titan Anti-spam & Security – Brute Force Protection, 2FA & Spam Filter places #11 on merit, 4.5★ from 370 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040) wp.org #1 2 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74) wp.org #2 ↑2 1 too high 4 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1489) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too low 8 Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning 30K+ · 4.8★ (1039) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #4 ↓1 6 too high 11 Titan Anti-spam & Security – Brute Force Protection, 2FA & Spam Filter 50K+ · 4.5★ (370) wp.org #17 ↑1 6 too low 12 Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #18 ↑1 6 too low 13 WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (490) wp.org #19 ↓2 6 too low 14 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too high 15 Security Ninja – WordPress Security & Firewall 7K+ · 4.7★ (101) wp.org #20 5 too low 16 SecuPress with Simple SSL – Simple and Performant Security 40K+ · 4.1★ (106) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 My Private Site – Make Your Whole Site Private, Force Login & Block Registration Spam 10K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #23 ↓1 6 too low 18 AntiVirus 30K+ · 4.1★ (23) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 LukasApps CAPTCHA tools for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.1★ (48) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 Blacklist Manager – WooCommerce Anti-Fraud, Blacklist & Checkout Verification 2K+ · 3.6★ (14) wp.org #22 ↓2 2 too low 21 Polanger Admin Suite – Secure, Control & Customize WordPress Admin 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓1 11 too high 22 Protector – Malware Removal, Firewall & Core Repair 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 7 too high 23 Dam Spam 3K+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #13 ↓1 10 too high 24 Crowdsignal Forms 200K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 8 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.