wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “comment filter”
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 filter”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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
Comment Link Remove and Other Comment Tools shows at wp.org #7 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 8K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.1★ average from 15 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 333 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
YMC Filter 4K+ · 4.8★ (34)
wp.org #1 2 
Category AJAX Filter – Posts, Custom Post Types & Product Filter 6K+ · 4.9★ (158)
wp.org #2 3 
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221)
wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4 
Search & Filter 40K+ · 4.5★ (175)
wp.org #3 1 too high 5 
Disable Comments 1M+ · 4.7★ (281)
wp.org #4 ↑3 1 too high 6 
Portfolio Filter Gallery – Photo Gallery 20K+ · 4.8★ (348)
wp.org #6 ↓1 7 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040)
wp.org #12 ↑3 5 too low 8 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too low 9 
Simple Comment Editing 2K+ · 4.8★ (55)
wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too high 10 
Ajax Search Lite – Live Search & Filter 70K+ · 4.8★ (266)
wp.org #13 ↑8 3 too low 11 
All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720)
wp.org #19 ↑5 8 too low 12 Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333)
wp.org #22 ↓8 10 too low 13 
Comment Reply Email Notification 3K+ · 4.8★ (33)
wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too high 14 
Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262)
wp.org #20 ↓2 6 too low 15 
WP Comment Cleaner – Delete All Comments, Disable Comments, Bulk Delete & Remove Comments 20K+ · 4.7★ (58)
wp.org #15 ↓2 16 
Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection 5M+ · 4.7★ (1187)
wp.org #23 ↓1 7 too low 17 Comment Link Remove and Other Comment Tools 8K+ · 4.1★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #7 ↓1 10 too high 18 
Disqus Comment System 30K+ · 2.7★ (219)
wp.org #10 ↑1 8 too high 19 
Disable Comments & Delete All Comments 9K+ · 5.0★ (41)
wp.org #17 2 too high 20 
Comments – GraphComment | AI-Moderated Comment System 400+ · 4.7★ (30)
wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too high 21 
Comment Blacklist Updater 800+ · 4.8★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓2 7 too high 22 
Content Censor 600+ · 4.5★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too high 23 
Comment Blacklist Manager 500+ · 4.4★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 
WP Comment Notification 400+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
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.