Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “unknown”, 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

Simple Google Calendar Outlook Events Widget shows at wp.org #7 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 6 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 #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #1 2 Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #2 3 CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3236) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 Cookies and Content Security Policy 10K+ · 4.9★ (67) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7 Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning 30K+ · 4.8★ (1039) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 MalCare WordPress Security Plugin – Malware Scanner, Cleaner, Security Firewall 100K+ · 4.4★ (559) wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too low 9 Security Ninja – WordPress Security & Firewall 7K+ · 4.7★ (101) wp.org #10 ↑4 1 too low 10 WP fail2ban – Advanced Security 60K+ · 4.2★ (71) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too high 11 Injection Guard 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #3 ↑7 8 too high 12 Content Visibility for Divi Builder 2K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #12 13 Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance 100K+ · 4.9★ (1962) wp.org #24 ↓6 11 too low 14 404 to 301 – Redirect Manager, 301 Redirection, 404 Error Logs & 404 Monitoring 100K+ · 4.7★ (321) wp.org #19 5 too low 15 WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection 10K+ · 4.6★ (213) wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too low 16 Enlighter – Customizable Syntax Highlighter 10K+ · 4.8★ (65) wp.org #16 17 Quttera ThreatSign – Web Malware Scanner for WordPress 10K+ · 3.9★ (47) wp.org #11 ↓2 6 too high 18 Simple Google Calendar Outlook Events Widget 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #7 ↓1 11 too high 19 D Database Collation Fix 1K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too low 20 Share a Draft 3K+ · 3.7★ (11) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 WP Show Site by IP 50+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 ↑2 22 Cache Cleaner X-Ray – Performance & Database Diagnostics 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 ↑2 23 Quentn WP 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↑2 8 too high 24 CodingBunny Database Cleaner 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↑6 7 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.