wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “user information”
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 information”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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
WP User Avatars shows at wp.org #17 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 29 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288)
wp.org #1 2 
User Switching 200K+ · 4.9★ (238)
wp.org #2 3 
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 
User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832)
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #5 ↑1 6 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #6 ↑1 7 
User Menus – Nav Menu Visibility 80K+ · 5.0★ (1281)
wp.org #10 ↓5 3 too low 8 
Stop User Enumeration 60K+ · 4.9★ (132)
wp.org #7 ↑3 1 too high 9 
User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission 20K+ · 4.1★ (537)
wp.org #9 10 
WP User Manager – Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile Builder & Member Directory 10K+ · 4.7★ (350)
wp.org #11 ↓3 1 too low 11 
Smart User Slug Hider 2K+ · 4.9★ (55)
wp.org #8 3 too high 12 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #15 ↑2 3 too low 13 
Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259)
wp.org #13 14 
User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End 10K+ · 4.8★ (913)
wp.org #20 ↓8 6 too low 15 
New User Approve 20K+ · 4.3★ (131)
wp.org #12 ↑2 3 too high 16 
Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps 10K+ · 5.0★ (70)
wp.org #14 ↑4 2 too high 17 
Contact Form 7 10M+ · 4.0★ (2186)
wp.org #18 ↑3 1 too low 18 
ProfilePress – Paid Membership, Online Courses (LMS), Ecommerce, User Registration & Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content 100K+ · 3.1★ (938)
wp.org #16 ↓5 2 too high 19 
ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 5K+ · 4.6★ (236)
wp.org #23 ↓3 4 too low 20 
WPFront User Role Editor 30K+ · 4.5★ (65)
wp.org #19 ↓4 1 too high 21 
Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012)
wp.org #24 ↓1 3 too low 22 WP User Avatars 20K+ · 4.5★ (29)
wp.org #17 5 too high 23 
User Login History 10K+ · 4.6★ (29)
wp.org #21 ↓5 2 too high 24 
Cookie Information – Cookie Banner with Consent Mode v2 2K+ · 3.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓3 2 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.