Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “comment author”

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 “comment author”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Hide Author Archive shows at wp.org #12 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 600+ 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

GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress places #12 on merit, 4.5★ from 155 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Simple Author Box 90K+ · 4.3★ (115) wp.org #1 2 Comments – wpDiscuz 60K+ · 4.7★ (581) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 Disable Comments 1M+ · 4.7★ (281) wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too low 4 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 Molongui Authorship – Author Boxes, Guest Authors & Co-Authors for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Comment Link Remove and Other Comment Tools 8K+ · 4.1★ (15) wp.org #2 ↑1 4 too high 7 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Guest Author 5K+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 Simple Comment Editing 2K+ · 4.8★ (55) wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too low 10 Comment Reply Email Notification 3K+ · 4.8★ (33) wp.org #17 ↓2 7 too low 11 Disqus Comment System 30K+ · 2.7★ (219) wp.org #13 ↑5 2 too low 12 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #23 ↓6 11 too low 13 D Disable Author Archives 10K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #8 ↓1 5 too high 14 Disable Comments & Delete All Comments 9K+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #24 ↓2 10 too low 15 Hide Comment Author Link 1K+ · 4.1★ (9) wp.org #10 ↓2 5 too high 16 ( (Simply) Guest Author Name 2K+ · 4.7★ (23) wp.org #22 ↓3 6 too low 17 WP Custom Author URL 5K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #15 ↓5 2 too high 18 Comment Approved Notifier Extended 500+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #18 ↓4 19 Comment Notifier 400+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #19 ↓3 20 Comment Moderation/Notification Recipients 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #16 ↓3 4 too high 21 Comment Form WP – Customize Default Comment Form 600+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Easy Author Avatar Image 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↓3 8 too high 23 Hide Author Archive 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 11 too high 24 WP Comment Notification 400+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.