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

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 notification”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 4 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 Comment Notification shows at wp.org #1 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin places #10 on merit, 4.4★ from 1445 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Comment Reply Email Notification 3K+ · 4.8★ (33) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Comments – wpDiscuz 60K+ · 4.7★ (581) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Notification – Custom Notifications and Alerts for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (124) wp.org #6 ↓2 3 too low 4 Manage Notification E-mails 100K+ · 4.8★ (56) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 Notification for Telegram 4K+ · 4.9★ (71) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Customize WordPress Emails and Alerts – Better Notifications for WP 30K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #14 ↓2 8 too low 7 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) wp.org #16 ↑4 9 too low 8 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #18 ↓1 10 too low 9 Simple Comment Editing 2K+ · 4.8★ (55) wp.org #11 ↑3 2 too low 10 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #22 ↑2 12 too low 11 Notification Master – Real-Time WordPress Notifications With Email, SMS, Webhooks & More 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #4 ↑1 7 too high 12 WP Comment Notification 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #1 11 too high 13 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #20 ↓9 7 too low 14 Noptin – Newsletter, New Post Notifications & Email Automation 10K+ · 4.5★ (120) wp.org #13 ↑2 1 too high 15 WP Notification Bell 700+ · 4.9★ (12) wp.org #10 ↑6 5 too high 16 Disqus Comment System 30K+ · 2.7★ (219) wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too high 17 Comment Link Remove and Other Comment Tools 8K+ · 4.1★ (15) wp.org #8 ↑1 9 too high 18 Comments – GraphComment | AI-Moderated Comment System 400+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19 Comment Moderation/Notification Recipients 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #9 ↑1 10 too high 20 ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 Comment Approved Notifier Extended 500+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #19 ↑2 2 too high 22 Comment Notifier 400+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #17 ↑2 5 too high 23 FluentComments – AJAX Comments, Anti-Spam & Comment Email Notifications 700+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #15 ↑3 8 too high 24 S Subscribe to Comments 10K+ · 3.9★ (14) 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.