Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “vulnerable plugins”

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 “vulnerable plugins”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Rename Plugins Folder shows at wp.org #6 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Anti-Malware Security and Brute-Force Firewall places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 783 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708) wp.org #1 2 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #2 3 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Patchstack – WordPress & Plugins Security 100K+ · 4.8★ (62) wp.org #5 6 WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes 200K+ · 4.7★ (326) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 Plugin Notes Plus 9K+ · 5.0★ (62) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Jetpack Protect 100K+ · 4.6★ (123) wp.org #9 10 Anti-Malware Security and Brute-Force Firewall 100K+ · 4.9★ (783) wp.org #15 5 too low 11 Headers Security Advanced & HSTS WP 90K+ · 4.9★ (79) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 File Manager Pro – Filester 100K+ · 4.9★ (155) wp.org #16 4 too low 13 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #19 5 too low 15 SecuPress with Simple SSL – Simple and Performant Security 40K+ · 4.1★ (106) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 WP phpMyAdmin 40K+ · 4.6★ (58) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 Awesome Support – WordPress HelpDesk & Support Plugin 6K+ · 3.5★ (194) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 The Hack Repair Guy’s Plugin Archiver 300+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 Eazy Plugin Manager 90+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 Rename Plugins Folder 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 14 too high 21 BitFire Security – Firewall, Malware Scanner, Bot Blocker, Login Protection 300+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 VulnTitan – Malware Scanner, Vulnerability Scanner & Security 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Ignore Or Disable Plugin Update 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 Remove Meta Generators 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.