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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wordpress activity logs”

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 “wordpress activity logs”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Activity Logs, User Activity Tracking, Multisite Activity Log from Logtivity shows at wp.org #5 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 4229 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 Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74) wp.org #1 2 WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (490) wp.org #2 3 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040) wp.org #3 4 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #4 5 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #12 6 too low 7 WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4229) wp.org #15 7 too low 9 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 Stream – Activity Log & Audit Trail 70K+ · 4.3★ (76) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (199) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 Activity Log Pro – User Activity Log, Audit Log & Security Monitor 400+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #7 7 too high 15 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #16 17 Booking Activities 3K+ · 5.0★ (121) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 404 to 301 – Redirect Manager, 301 Redirection, 404 Error Logs & 404 Monitoring 100K+ · 4.7★ (321) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 Activity Logs, User Activity Tracking, Multisite Activity Log from Logtivity 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #5 16 too high 22 User Activity Tracking and Log 2K+ · 3.5★ (34) wp.org #13 9 too high 23 Debug Log Manager Tool 3K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #23 24 Logify WP – Activity Log & User Audit Log 300+ · 5.0★ (2) 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.