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

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

Comment Blacklist Manager shows at wp.org #9 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.4★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Antispam Bee places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 226 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 Asset CleanUp: Page Speed Booster 100K+ · 4.9★ (1564) wp.org #1 2 Database Cleaner: Cleanup, Optimization & Repair 10K+ · 5.0★ (150) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 Simple Comment Editing 2K+ · 4.8★ (55) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too high 4 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 WP Comment Cleaner – Delete All Comments, Disable Comments, Bulk Delete & Remove Comments 20K+ · 4.7★ (58) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance 100K+ · 4.9★ (1962) wp.org #14 ↓6 8 too low 7 Disable Comments & Delete All Comments 9K+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8 Plugins Garbage Collector (Database Cleanup) 10K+ · 4.4★ (92) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection 5M+ · 4.7★ (1187) wp.org #18 ↓1 9 too low 10 WP Bulk Delete 90K+ · 4.6★ (131) wp.org #16 6 too low 11 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #20 9 too low 12 Antispam Bee 700K+ · 4.8★ (226) wp.org #23 ↓2 11 too low 13 ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #10 ↑4 3 too high 14 Bulk Delete Comments 5K+ · 3.8★ (13) wp.org #8 ↑1 6 too high 15 Schema & Structured Data for WP & AMP 100K+ · 4.5★ (252) wp.org #21 ↓1 6 too low 16 Featherweight 10K+ · 4.1★ (45) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 Falcon – Cache, Performance, Security, Cleanup, and Tweaks 2K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #11 6 too high 18 SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 500K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 Comment Blacklist Manager 500+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #9 ↑1 10 too high 20 Zeno Report Comments 200+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 SweepPress: Website Cleanup and Optimization 500+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #12 9 too high 22 Comment Image Boost 50+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #17 ↑1 5 too high 23 Auto-Close Comments, Pingbacks and Trackbacks 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 AOS Comment Spam Cleanup 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 9 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.