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

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 redirect”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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 Blacklist Updater shows at wp.org #9 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 800+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 1322 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040) wp.org #1 2

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #5 3 too low 3

Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks – Easy Redirect Manager 100K+ · 3.8★ (162) wp.org #3 4

404 to 301 – Redirect Manager, 301 Redirection, 404 Error Logs & 404 Monitoring 100K+ · 4.7★ (321) wp.org #6 2 too low 5

Simple Comment Editing 2K+ · 4.8★ (55) wp.org #4 1 too high 6

Comment Link Remove and Other Comment Tools 8K+ · 4.1★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #2 4 too high 7

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8

Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406) wp.org #12 4 too low 9

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too low 10

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #14 ↑3 4 too low 11

Add to Cart Redirect for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.9★ (101) wp.org #11 12

PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #20 8 too low 13

The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #19 5 too low 15

WP 404 Auto Redirect to Similar Post 30K+ · 4.9★ (113) wp.org #16 ↓3 1 too low 16

Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too low 17

Groups 404 Redirect 1K+ · 4.6★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #7 ↑1 10 too high 18

WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #24 6 too low 19

Comments Like Dislike 4K+ · 4.6★ (38) wp.org #18 ↓3 1 too high 20

ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↑3 7 too high 21

Random Post Plugin – Redirect URL to Post 3K+ · 5.0★ (20) thin reviews wp.org #22 1 too low 22

Comment Blacklist Updater 800+ · 4.8★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #9 ↑1 13 too high 23

MM Comment Manager — Disable Comment Box, Hide Existing Comments and Stop Spam 800+ · 3.4★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #23 24

PowerUp – Admin Tools (Login/Logout Redirects, Scripts & Comments Control) 100+ · 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.