wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wordpress hide admin bar”
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 hide admin bar”, 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
Hide Admin Bar Based on User Roles – Disable the WordPress Toolbar by Role or Capability shows at wp.org #7 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.9★ average from 20 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 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.
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #1 2 
MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157)
wp.org #2 ↓2 3 
Disable Admin Notices – Hide Dashboard Notifications 100K+ · 4.7★ (367)
wp.org #6 3 too low 4 
Auto Hide Admin Bar 3K+ · 4.8★ (32)
wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too high 5 
Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373)
wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too low 6 
Hide Admin Bar from Non-Admins 10K+ · 4.3★ (30)
wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too high 7 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #13 6 too low 8 
WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275)
wp.org #9 ↑3 1 too low 9 
Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312)
wp.org #11 ↓2 2 too low 10 
Admin Bar Editor – Toolbar Customization with User Role based access & Custom menus 3K+ · 4.4★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #5 5 too high 11 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323)
wp.org #14 3 too low 12 
WPFront Notification Bar 40K+ · 4.5★ (131)
wp.org #12 13 
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205)
wp.org #24 ↓1 11 too low 14 
Hide Admin Bar 20K+ · 4.5★ (30)
wp.org #10 ↓2 4 too high 15 Hide Admin Bar Based on User Roles – Disable the WordPress Toolbar by Role or Capability 20K+ · 3.9★ (20) thin reviews
wp.org #7 8 too high 16 
BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55)
wp.org #16 17 
Disable All WordPress Updates 20K+ · 4.8★ (69)
wp.org #18 1 too low 18 
Controlled Admin Access 10K+ · 4.8★ (45)
wp.org #20 2 too low 19 
EU Cookies Bar for WordPress 9K+ · 4.8★ (26)
wp.org #15 4 too high 20 
User Admin Simplifier 10K+ · 5.0★ (31)
wp.org #19 1 too high 21 
Notibar – Notification Bar for WordPress 8K+ · 4.8★ (71)
wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too low 22 
Cookie Bar 10K+ · 4.9★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #17 5 too high 23 
Speed Contact Bar 4K+ · 4.6★ (56)
wp.org #23 24 
Simple Admin Language Change 10K+ · 4.7★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↑1 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.