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

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 audit”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

WP Admin Audit shows at wp.org #8 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Cookie Compliance for WordPress – Cookie Consent, GDPR & CCPA places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 3026 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint wp.org #1 2

Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #2 3

BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current wp.org #3 4

WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (490) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5

WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #7 2 too low 6

All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #6 7

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #10 3 too low 8

Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #4 ↑1 4 too high 9

Cookie Compliance for WordPress – Cookie Consent, GDPR & CCPA 800K+ · 4.8★ (3026) wp.org #13 ↑3 4 too low 10

Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too low 11

Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #12 ↑2 1 too low 12

Stream – Activity Log & Audit Trail 70K+ · 4.3★ (76) wp.org #9 ↑2 3 too high 13

Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #18 5 too low 14

Access Governance for WordPress (aka AAM) 100K+ · 4.2★ (420) wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too low 15

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #23 ↑4 8 too low 16

Security Ninja – WordPress Security & Firewall 7K+ · 4.7★ (101) wp.org #16 ↑3 17

Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current wp.org #15 ↓7 2 too high 18

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too low 19

Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #22 3 too low 20

Intagrate Lite 4K+ · 4.1★ (27) wp.org #24 ↓6 4 too low 21

WP Admin Audit 1K+ · 3.7★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #8 13 too high 22

Lockora Security Audit 200+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #11 11 too high 23

Agent Abilities for MCP – Connect Claude and ChatGPT with Permission Controls and Audit Log 800+ · 4.8★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓2 2 too high 24

Alt Audit – Bulk Alt Text Manager & Image SEO 90+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↑2 5 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.