wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “user visit”
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 visit”, 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
Page Visits Counter – Lite shows at wp.org #7 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 1667 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
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 4 
User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832)
wp.org #4 5 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #5 ↑1 6 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #6 ↓1 7 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040)
wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too low 8 
Stop User Enumeration 60K+ · 4.9★ (132)
wp.org #8 ↑1 9 
User Submitted Posts – Enable Users to Submit Posts from the Front End 10K+ · 4.8★ (913)
wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10 TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too low 11 
User Access Manager 10K+ · 4.4★ (112)
wp.org #10 1 too high 12 
Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps 10K+ · 5.0★ (70)
wp.org #11 ↑2 1 too high 13 
Export and Import Users and Customers 50K+ · 4.8★ (442)
wp.org #18 5 too low 14 
ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 5K+ · 4.6★ (236)
wp.org #14 15 
Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012)
wp.org #15 ↑2 16 
WPFront User Role Editor 30K+ · 4.5★ (65)
wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too high 17 
PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 90K+ · 4.7★ (143)
wp.org #22 ↓1 5 too low 18 
Restrict User Access – Ultimate Membership & Content Protection 10K+ · 4.3★ (94)
wp.org #20 2 too low 19 
White Label CMS 200K+ · 4.7★ (114)
wp.org #24 ↓2 5 too low 20 Page Visits Counter – Lite 5K+ · 4.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #7 13 too high 21 
User Notes 800+ · 4.8★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #19 2 too high 22 
User Activity Tracking and Log 2K+ · 3.5★ (34)
wp.org #23 1 too low 23 
Disable User Login 6K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too high 24 
Menu By User Roles 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #21 3 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.