wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wp registration”
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 “wp registration”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 4 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
Disable WP Registration Page shows at wp.org #7 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 2K+ 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
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 3221 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676)
wp.org #1 2 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708)
wp.org #2 3 
User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832)
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #9 4 too low 6 
WP Event Manager – Events Calendar, Registrations, Sell Tickets with WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.0★ (249)
wp.org #6 7 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221)
wp.org #12 ↓2 5 too low 8 
Event Tickets and Registration 90K+ · 3.5★ (236) heavy footprint
wp.org #5 3 too high 9 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #10 ↑1 1 too low 10 
WP-Members Membership Plugin 50K+ · 4.6★ (272)
wp.org #11 ↑5 1 too low 11 
Eventin – Events Calendar, Tickets, Registration, Booking & WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (413) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 3 too high 12 
All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720)
wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too low 13 
WP Encryption: Easy HTTPS / SSL & Free SSL certificate, HTTPS redirect 50K+ · 4.9★ (1146)
wp.org #19 ↑1 6 too low 14 
RegistrationMagic – Custom Registration Forms, User Registration, Payment, and User Login 7K+ · 4.5★ (459)
wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too low 15 
WP Rollback – Rollback Plugins and Themes 200K+ · 4.9★ (215)
wp.org #17 ↓4 2 too low 16 
Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373)
wp.org #18 2 too low 17 
WP Umbrella: Security Backup Restore & Monitoring 90K+ · 4.8★ (81)
wp.org #14 3 too high 18 
WPS Hide Login 2M+ · 4.8★ (2111)
wp.org #24 ↓3 6 too low 19 
WP User Manager – Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile Builder & Member Directory 10K+ · 4.7★ (350) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↓3 4 too high 20 
WP Data Access – App Builder for Tables, Forms, Dashboards, Charts & Maps 10K+ · 4.9★ (88)
wp.org #20 21 
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #21 22 
WP-Polls 40K+ · 4.2★ (136)
wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 D Disable WP Registration Page 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #7 16 too high 24 
Event Booking Manager for WooCommerce – Sell Tickets, Event Registration, RSVP & Event Calendar 7K+ · 4.5★ (167) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #22 ↓5 2 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.