wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “comments export”

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 “comments export”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 2 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

Export/Import Media – CSV Media Library Import & Export shows at wp.org #9 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 1720 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. 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 ↑1 2

Comments Import & Export 2K+ · 4.9★ (68) wp.org #2 ↓1 3

WP All Export – Drag & Drop Export to Any Custom CSV, XML & Excel 100K+ · 4.5★ (415) wp.org #3 4

Export All URLs 50K+ · 4.6★ (94) wp.org #4 5

Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6

WP Import Export Lite 40K+ · 4.0★ (113) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too high 7

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too low 8

WP Comment Cleaner – Delete All Comments, Disable Comments, Bulk Delete & Remove Comments 20K+ · 4.7★ (58) wp.org #7 1 too high 9

Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3004) wp.org #13 ↑4 4 too low 10

Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406) wp.org #15 5 too low 11

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #21 ↑1 10 too low 12

Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current wp.org #14 2 too low 13

GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #23 ↑1 10 too low 14

Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74) wp.org #20 6 too low 15 W WP Photo Album Plus 10K+ · 4.7★ (199) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #22 7 too low 16

Lazy Social Comments 900+ · 4.5★ (19) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↑3 2 too low 17

Disqus Comment System 30K+ · 2.7★ (219) wp.org #19 2 too low 18

Export Users Data CSV 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #8 ↑8 10 too high 19

Comment Link Remove and Other Comment Tools 8K+ · 4.1★ (15) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓1 8 too high 20

Export Order Items for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.7★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↑1 3 too high 21

Import WP – CSV & XML Import Export for WordPress 4K+ · 4.4★ (25) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #24 3 too low 22

Magic Export & Import 200+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #12 10 too high 23

Export All Posts, Products, Orders & Users | WP Ultimate Exporter | WordPress CSV Export 6K+ · 3.2★ (16) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #16 ↑4 7 too high 24

Export/Import Media – CSV Media Library Import & Export 1K+ · 3.7★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #9 15 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.