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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “threat detection”

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 “threat detection”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Atomic Edge Security – Firewall, Malware Scan and Login Security shows at wp.org #11 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 700+ 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 #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 1039 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040) wp.org #1 2 Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ · 4.2★ (386) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #3 ↑2 4 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too low 5 Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 Anti-Malware Security and Brute-Force Firewall 100K+ · 4.9★ (783) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7 Quttera ThreatSign – Web Malware Scanner for WordPress 10K+ · 3.9★ (47) wp.org #4 ↓2 3 too high 8 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #5 ↑4 3 too high 9 Spam Protection | Maspik 30K+ · 4.7★ (87) wp.org #8 ↓4 1 too high 10 Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning 30K+ · 4.8★ (1039) wp.org #16 6 too low 11 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 WP Encryption: Easy HTTPS / SSL & Free SSL certificate, HTTPS redirect 50K+ · 4.9★ (1146) wp.org #17 ↑1 5 too low 13 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (398) wp.org #14 ↑4 1 too low 14 Zero Spam for WordPress 20K+ · 4.1★ (143) wp.org #10 ↑3 4 too high 15 Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #15 16 MalCare WordPress Security Plugin – Malware Scanner, Cleaner, Security Firewall 100K+ · 4.4★ (559) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 Security Ninja – WordPress Security & Firewall 7K+ · 4.7★ (101) wp.org #21 ↑3 3 too low 19 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #18 ↑1 1 too high 20 Atomic Edge Security – Firewall, Malware Scan and Login Security 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #11 9 too high 21 Proxy & VPN Blocker 1K+ · 3.8★ (33) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 WebTotem Security 800+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #22 23 Virusdie | One-click website security 2K+ · 4.0★ (9) wp.org #19 ↑2 4 too high 24 Veracity Bot Detection Tag for WordPress 20+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 4 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.