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

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 roles”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Premmerce User Roles shows at wp.org #7 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 600+ 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

TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 1667 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #1 2

User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738) wp.org #3 1 too low 3

User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288) wp.org #2 1 too high 4

Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #4 5

Nav Menu Roles 70K+ · 4.9★ (219) wp.org #5 ↑7 6

PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 90K+ · 4.7★ (143) wp.org #9 ↓4 3 too low 7

User Menus – Nav Menu Visibility 80K+ · 5.0★ (1281) wp.org #15 ↓2 8 too low 8

User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832) wp.org #14 ↓7 6 too low 9

User Switching 200K+ · 4.9★ (238) wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too low 10

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #17 ↓2 7 too low 11

WPFront User Role Editor 30K+ · 4.5★ (65) wp.org #11 ↓1 12

TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #23 ↓5 11 too low 13

Hide Admin Bar Based on User Roles – Disable the WordPress Toolbar by Role or Capability 20K+ · 3.9★ (20) thin reviews wp.org #8 5 too high 14

New User Approve 20K+ · 4.3★ (131) wp.org #22 8 too low 15

WP User Manager – Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile Builder & Member Directory 10K+ · 4.7★ (350) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #21 ↓3 6 too low 16

User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission 20K+ · 4.1★ (537) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #19 ↑3 3 too low 17 M Multiple Roles 5K+ · 4.7★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too high 18

Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74) wp.org #20 2 too low 19

Menu By User Roles 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #6 ↑18 14 too high 21

Product Visibility by User Role for WooCommerce 6K+ · 3.8★ (21) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↑3 5 too high 22

Payment Gateways by User Roles for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↓1 12 too high 23

Premmerce User Roles 600+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #7 ↓1 16 too high 24

Product Prices by User Roles for WooCommerce 1K+ · 3.4★ (14) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓2 6 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.