wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “bot log”

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 “bot log”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Forge AI Bot Log – Block AI Bots, Crawler Detection & Verification shows at wp.org #5 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 90+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Armour – Honeypot Anti Spam places #7 on merit, 5.0★ from 1472 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. 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★ (5040) wp.org #1 2

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #3 1 too low 3

Blackhole for Bad Bots 30K+ · 4.7★ (148) wp.org #2 1 too high 4

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #4 5

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning 30K+ · 4.8★ (1039) wp.org #11 ↑2 6 too low 6

404 to 301 – Redirect Manager, 301 Redirection, 404 Error Logs & 404 Monitoring 100K+ · 4.7★ (321) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7

WP Armour – Honeypot Anti Spam 400K+ · 5.0★ (1472) wp.org #14 7 too low 8

Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1489) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too low 9

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too low 10

Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too high 11

301 Redirects – Redirect Manager 300K+ · 4.7★ (578) wp.org #15 ↑1 4 too low 12

Telegram Bot & Channel 500+ · 4.8★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #7 5 too high 13

Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #23 ↓1 10 too low 14

Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #22 ↓2 8 too low 15

Better Robots.txt – AI-Ready Crawl Control & Bot Governance 5K+ · 4.5★ (102) wp.org #16 ↑2 1 too low 16

Bot Traffic Shield – Block Bad Bots and Stop AI Bots Crawlers 900+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #6 10 too high 17

Booter – Bots & Crawlers Manager 7K+ · 4.7★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #10 7 too high 18

Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #19 ↑4 20

Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #24 4 too low 21

Checkout Shield for WooCommerce – Stop Fake Orders, Spam Bots & Card Testing 400+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #17 4 too high 22

Forge AI Bot Log – Block AI Bots, Crawler Detection & Verification 90+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #5 17 too high 23

Log-Hero.com Plugin 40+ · 4.5★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↑1 5 too high 24 J JTZL's Bot Maze 40+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #21 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.