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

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 date”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Nepali Date Utilities shows at wp.org #6 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 418 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Disable Comments 1M+ · 4.7★ (281) wp.org #1 2

Comments – wpDiscuz 60K+ · 4.7★ (581) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #2 3

پارسی دیت – Parsi Date 100K+ · 4.6★ (130) wp.org #3 4

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too low 5

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint wp.org #10 5 too low 6

Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #17 ↓1 11 too low 7

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too low 8

WP Comment Cleaner – Delete All Comments, Disable Comments, Bulk Delete & Remove Comments 20K+ · 4.7★ (58) wp.org #11 ↓2 3 too low 9

Bangla Date Display 4K+ · 4.6★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #5 4 too high 10

Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406) wp.org #19 ↓2 9 too low 11

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #20 ↓1 9 too low 12

Comment Link Remove and Other Comment Tools 8K+ · 4.1★ (15) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #4 8 too high 13

Disqus Comment System 30K+ · 2.7★ (219) wp.org #8 ↓1 5 too high 14

Comments Import & Export 2K+ · 4.9★ (68) wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too low 15

Comments – GraphComment | AI-Moderated Comment System 400+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too high 16

WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #24 8 too low 17

WP Hebrew Date 600+ · 5.0★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #9 ↓1 8 too high 18

GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #21 ↓3 3 too low 19

Nepali Date Utilities 1K+ · 4.7★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #6 13 too high 20

ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↑2 2 too high 21

First payment date for WooCommerce Subscriptions 400+ · 4.7★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too high 22

Post Date Randomizer 8K+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓2 1 too low 23

Comments Extra Fields For Post,Pages and CPT 500+ · 4.2★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too high 24

Bulk Delete Comments 5K+ · 3.8★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #22 2 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.