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

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 captcha”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Power Captcha reCAPTCHA shows at wp.org #16 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 900+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Advanced Google reCAPTCHA places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 430 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #1 2

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #2 3

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection 10K+ · 4.6★ (213) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Captcha Code 100K+ · 3.9★ (35) wp.org #3 2 too high 6

Comments – wpDiscuz 60K+ · 4.7★ (581) wp.org #10 4 too low 7

reCaptcha by BestWebSoft 100K+ · 3.9★ (391) wp.org #8 1 too low 8

Advanced Google reCAPTCHA 200K+ · 4.8★ (430) wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too low 9

SilentShield – Captcha & Anti-Spam for WordPress (CF7, WPForms, Elementor, WooCommerce) 10K+ · 4.7★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #7 2 too high 10

Image CAPTCHA for Contact Form 7 and WPForms by HookAndHook (DSGVO/GDPR) 70K+ · 4.7★ (49) wp.org #9 1 too high 11

Friendly Captcha for WordPress 10K+ · 3.9★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #6 5 too high 12

CAPTCHA 4WP – Antispam CAPTCHA solution for WordPress 100K+ · 3.2★ (269) wp.org #13 1 too low 13

oopspam Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for WordPress Forms & Comments (No CAPTCHA) 6K+ · 4.9★ (51) wp.org #19 ↓1 6 too low 14

Invisible Anti-Spam & CAPTCHA — reCAPTCHA Alternative for All Forms 5K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #21 ↑1 6 too low 16

Captcha by BestWebSoft – Advanced Spam Protection, Math & OCR-Friendly Captcha for Site Forms 10K+ · 4.1★ (21) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↑1 5 too high 17

Comment Link Remove and Other Comment Tools 8K+ · 4.1★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #12 ↓1 6 too high 19

Disable Comments 100K+ · 3.8★ (25) wp.org #14 ↑6 5 too high 20 B Blue Captcha 400+ · 4.7★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too high 21

ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #23 2 too low 22

Kitgenix CAPTCHA for Cloudflare Turnstile 700+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓3 23

Power Captcha reCAPTCHA 900+ · 4.3★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too high 24

SiteGuard WP Plugin 600K+ · 4.3★ (15) host-installed base thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓1

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.