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← Rankings

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

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 links”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 6 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

WP Open Comment Links in New Window shows at wp.org #13 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 100+ 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

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 5039 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 wp.org
1 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #5 ↓1 4 too low 2 Disable Comments 1M+ · 4.7★ (281) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Comment Link Remove and Other Comment Tools 8K+ · 4.1★ (15) wp.org #1 3 too high 5 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Gallery Custom Links 30K+ · 4.7★ (208) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #7 8 External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window 90K+ · 4.3★ (247) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too high 9 Disable Comments 100K+ · 3.8★ (25) wp.org #4 ↑2 5 too high 10 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #12 ↓2 2 too low 11 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #17 6 too low 12 Disable Comments & Delete All Comments 9K+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 ThirstyAffiliates – Affiliate Links, Link Branding, Link Tracking & Marketing Plugin 30K+ · 4.6★ (251) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 Disqus Comment System 30K+ · 2.7★ (219) wp.org #10 ↑6 4 too high 15 Link Library 10K+ · 4.7★ (97) wp.org #15 ↓3 16 Comment Reply Email Notification 3K+ · 4.8★ (33) wp.org #16 ↓1 17 Comments – GraphComment | AI-Moderated Comment System 400+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #22 ↓1 5 too low 18 No External Links 4K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 Comment Notifier 400+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #18 ↑1 1 too high 20 Comment Approved Notifier Extended 500+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #24 ↓1 4 too low 21 WP Open Comment Links in New Window 100+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #13 8 too high 22 Comment Blacklist Updater 800+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too high 23 Check for Broken Links – Broken Link Checker & SEO Suite 1K+ · 4.0★ (6) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 WP Comment Notification 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 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.