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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “captcha numbers”

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 “captcha numbers”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 2 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

Kaya Login Captcha shows at wp.org #12 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 400+ 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

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 2144 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection 10K+ · 4.6★ (213) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #5 ↓4 2 too low 4 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #4 5 Captcha Code 100K+ · 3.9★ (35) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 too high 6 reCaptcha by BestWebSoft 100K+ · 3.9★ (391) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #17 ↑1 10 too low 8 Image CAPTCHA for Contact Form 7 and WPForms by HookAndHook (DSGVO/GDPR) 70K+ · 4.7★ (49) wp.org #9 ↓2 1 too low 9 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #20 ↓4 11 too low 10 Advanced Google reCAPTCHA 200K+ · 4.8★ (430) wp.org #18 ↑3 8 too low 11 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #22 ↑1 11 too low 12 CAPTCHA 4WP – Antispam CAPTCHA solution for WordPress 100K+ · 3.2★ (269) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too high 13 Invisible Anti-Spam & CAPTCHA — reCAPTCHA Alternative for All Forms 5K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #13 ↓1 14 Simple Login Captcha 10K+ · 3.9★ (17) wp.org #7 ↓1 7 too high 15 Captcha by BestWebSoft – Advanced Spam Protection, Math & OCR-Friendly Captcha for Site Forms 10K+ · 4.1★ (21) wp.org #8 7 too high 16 oopspam Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for WordPress Forms & Comments (No CAPTCHA) 6K+ · 4.9★ (51) wp.org #16 ↓2 17 hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88) wp.org #24 ↓4 7 too low 18 Login Lockdown & Protection 100K+ · 4.3★ (61) wp.org #21 ↓4 3 too low 19 Kitgenix CAPTCHA for Cloudflare Turnstile 700+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 Power Captcha reCAPTCHA 900+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #10 ↓1 10 too high 21 Captcha Ajax 100+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #15 ↓2 6 too high 22 Math Captcha for Contact Form 7 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 ↓4 1 too low 23 SiteGuard WP Plugin 600K+ · 4.3★ (15) wp.org #19 ↓4 4 too high 24 Kaya Login Captcha 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓1 12 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.