wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “user agent”

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 “user agent”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 3 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

Agent Abilities for MCP – Connect Claude and ChatGPT with Permission Controls and Audit Log shows at wp.org #11 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 800+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

301 Redirects – Redirect Manager places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 578 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 signals wp.org

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #1 2

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint wp.org #2 ↓1 3

User Switching 200K+ · 4.9★ (238) wp.org #4 ↓2 1 too low 4

LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #5 ↓2 1 too low 5

Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74) wp.org #3 ↑1 2 too high 6

WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #7 ↓2 1 too low 7

W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too low 8

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too low 9

Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #6 4 too high 11

301 Redirects – Redirect Manager 300K+ · 4.7★ (578) wp.org #17 ↓3 6 too low 12

SupportCandy – AI Customer Support Ticket System & Live Chatbot Agent 10K+ · 4.9★ (289) wp.org #18 ↑2 6 too low 13

Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons 30K+ · 5.0★ (775) wp.org #24 11 too low 14

Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #23 9 too low 15

Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703) wp.org #15 ↓3 16

Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current wp.org #13 3 too high 17

Blackhole for Bad Bots 30K+ · 4.7★ (148) wp.org #22 ↓1 5 too low 18

hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88) wp.org #19 ↓6 1 too low 19

GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #21 ↓4 2 too low 20

Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too high 21

Secure MCP Server for Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI Agents 8K+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↑2 7 too high 22

Agent Abilities for MCP – Connect Claude and ChatGPT with Permission Controls and Audit Log 800+ · 4.8★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓1 11 too high 23

AI Agent by SiteGround 1M+ · 1.7★ (98) suspect reviewsclosure riskhost-installed base wp.org #12 ↓1 11 too high 24

KP Agent Ready 70+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓2 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.