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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “tor”

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 “tor”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 6 plugins are 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

Fense Block Vpn & Proxy shows at wp.org #9 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 70+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Reveal IDs 40K+ · 5.0★ (61) wp.org #1 2 Proxy & VPN Blocker 1K+ · 3.8★ (33) wp.org #2 3 WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection 10K+ · 4.6★ (213) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Bitcoin Payments – Blockonomics 2K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Geo Controller – Geolocation & Geotargeting 1K+ · 4.4★ (31) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 FAZ Cookie Manager 3K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #12 ↓1 6 too low 7 VPN Guard – Block VPN, Proxy, Bots & Anonymous Visitors 200+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #10 ↓3 2 too low 9 App for Cloudflare® 1K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too low 10 CloudFilt Bot & Spam Protection 500+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #5 5 too high 11 SweepWidget – Giveaway, Contest, Sweepstakes, Competition & Photo Contest Plugin 100+ · 4.3★ (14) wp.org #22 11 too low 12 Cloud Maestro – WAF Security Suite for Cloudflare 70+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too low 13 Country Block – Ultimate Geo-Blocker, IP Ban & Login Security 100+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #16 ↓1 3 too low 14 ThreatPoint IP Reputation 10+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #19 ↓1 5 too low 15 GranTech IP Firewall for AbuseIPDB 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↓2 16 Multi CryptoCurrency Payments 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 ↑2 9 too high 17 IP Address Approval 100+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #11 ↑10 6 too high 18 Social Chat Buttons 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 too low 19 Fense Block Vpn & Proxy 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↑1 10 too high 20 BotFend Anti-Bot Firewall 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓2 6 too high 21 ToR Studio Agent Readiness Scanner — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Honeypot Guard – Silent Anti-Spam 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too high 23 SentraIP 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 bad_ip WP 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓1 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.