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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “cap”

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 “cap”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 3 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

Privacy CAPTCHA for Cap shows at wp.org #4 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP-Sweep places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 138 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #1 2 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #3 ↑20 1 too low 3 Temporary Login Without Password 90K+ · 5.0★ (1549) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 LukasApps CAPTCHA tools for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.1★ (48) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #5 ↓2 6 Loggedin – Session Manager, Limit Concurrent Logins & Force Logout 8K+ · 4.9★ (112) wp.org #6 ↓2 7 Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #8 ↓2 1 too low 8 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too low 9 WP ULike – Like Buttons, Voting & Engagement Analytics 60K+ · 4.8★ (283) wp.org #12 ↑2 3 too low 10 Wallet for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.7★ (188) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 WP-Sweep 100K+ · 4.7★ (138) wp.org #18 ↓1 7 too low 12 Change Text Case 1K+ · 4.8★ (21) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too high 13 D Disable "BIG Image" Threshold 10K+ · 4.2★ (35) wp.org #13 ↓1 14 Logo Slider WP – Responsive Logo Carousel, Logo Gallery & Logo Showcase 10K+ · 4.5★ (61) wp.org #17 ↓9 3 too low 15 1-Click WordPress Migration Plugin – Backup, Migrate & Clone 400+ · 4.5★ (40) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 FluentPlayer – Video Player With Forms & Lead Capture 2K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #15 ↑1 1 too high 17 Gravity Forms Zero Spam 100K+ · 4.3★ (24) wp.org #20 ↑2 3 too low 18 Disable Media Pages 10K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #23 ↑1 5 too low 19 Custom 404 Pro 7K+ · 4.2★ (22) wp.org #22 ↓2 3 too low 20 Privacy CAPTCHA for Cap 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 ↑1 16 too high 21 Squeeze – Browser-Based Image Compression & WebP Converter (No API, No Limits) 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Justify for Paragraph Block 3K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 ↓1 8 too high 23 Hide Author Archive 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too high 24 EasyTest – Simplify A/B Testing 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓1 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.