wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “user location”
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 location”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 5 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
User Location and IP shows at wp.org #13 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #1 2 
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #2 3 
User Switching 200K+ · 4.9★ (238)
wp.org #3 4 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706)
wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too low 5 
Location Weather – WordPress Weather Forecast, Air Quality & Weather Widget 10K+ · 4.5★ (103)
wp.org #5 6 
Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps 10K+ · 5.0★ (70)
wp.org #6 ↑2 7 
User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End 10K+ · 4.8★ (913)
wp.org #10 3 too low 8 
One User Avatar | User Profile Picture 100K+ · 4.7★ (41)
wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too high 9 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too low 10 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668)
wp.org #16 ↑5 6 too low 11 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #22 ↓2 11 too low 12 
ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 5K+ · 4.6★ (236) not PHP-current
wp.org #12 ↑4 13 
User IP and Location 3K+ · 4.2★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #4 9 too high 14 
ProfilePress – Paid Membership, Online Courses (LMS), Ecommerce, User Registration & Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content 100K+ · 3.1★ (938) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 5 too high 15 
UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP 20K+ · 4.7★ (183)
wp.org #21 ↑2 6 too low 16 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) heavy footprint
wp.org #24 8 too low 17 
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) not PHP-current
wp.org #23 ↓1 6 too low 18 
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19 
Kikote – Location Picker at Checkout & Google Address AutoFill Plugin for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (65) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too high 20 
User Login History 10K+ · 4.6★ (29) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too high 21 B BP xProfile Location 500+ · 4.4★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↓2 4 too high 22 
Autocomplete Location Field for Contact Form 7 1K+ · 5.0★ (13) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too high 23 
Simple Location 300+ · 4.6★ (8) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↓1 8 too high 24 User Location and IP 300+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↓2 11 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.