wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “users”

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 “users”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 2 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

Users Registration Date – Sortable Users Column shows at wp.org #6 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 5039 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.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259) wp.org #1 2

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

Export and Import Users and Customers 50K+ · 4.8★ (442) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #2 ↑2 1 too high 4

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #4 ↓1 5

Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #5 6

Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #7 ↑4 1 too low 7

User Switching 200K+ · 4.9★ (238) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too low 8

User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288) wp.org #9 1 too low 9

Online Active Users 2K+ · 4.7★ (51) wp.org #8 1 too high 10

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint wp.org #16 6 too low 11

UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP 20K+ · 4.7★ (183) wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too low 12

Import Users from CSV 10K+ · 4.1★ (44) wp.org #10 2 too high 13

Stop User Enumeration 60K+ · 4.9★ (132) wp.org #22 9 too low 14

WP Remote Users Sync 6K+ · 4.9★ (73) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #13 1 too high 15

Users Registration Date – Sortable Users Column 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #6 ↑1 9 too high 16

Send Users Email – Email Subscribers, Email Marketing Newsletter 5K+ · 4.5★ (28) wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too high 17

Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74) wp.org #17 ↑5 18

One User Avatar | User Profile Picture 100K+ · 4.7★ (41) wp.org #18 19

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 #23 3 too low 21

Index WP Users For Speed 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↓8 7 too high 22

Export Users Data CSV 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #20 2 too high 23

User Profile Picture – Custom Local Avatars 4K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓4 4 too high 24

Import Users & Customers with Meta | WP Ultimate CSV Importer Add-on 5K+ · 3.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓2 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.