wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “comments import”
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 import”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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
Import Users & Customers with Meta | WP Ultimate CSV Importer Add-on shows at wp.org #7 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 1916 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.
Comments Import & Export 2K+ · 4.9★ (68)
wp.org #1 2 
Disable Comments 1M+ · 4.7★ (281)
wp.org #2 3 
WP All Import – Drag & Drop Import for CSV, XML, Excel & Google Sheets 100K+ · 4.7★ (1966)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259)
wp.org #3 1 too high 5 
WP Import Export Lite 40K+ · 4.0★ (113)
wp.org #5 6 
Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3004)
wp.org #9 ↑3 3 too low 7 
Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406)
wp.org #12 ↓1 5 too low 8 
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 3 too low 9 
All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720)
wp.org #17 ↓4 8 too low 10 
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #19 ↓5 9 too low 11 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1916)
wp.org #22 ↓4 11 too low 12 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #23 11 too low 13 
Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current
wp.org #15 2 too low 14 W WP Photo Album Plus 10K+ · 4.7★ (199) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #14 ↑3 15 
Blogger Importer Extended 4K+ · 4.7★ (131)
wp.org #20 5 too low 16 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #18 ↓3 2 too low 17 
Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) not PHP-current
wp.org #21 ↓5 4 too low 18 
Disqus Comment System 30K+ · 2.7★ (219)
wp.org #13 ↑6 5 too high 19 
Import WP – CSV & XML Import Export for WordPress 4K+ · 4.4★ (25) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #10 9 too high 20 
Comments – GraphComment | AI-Moderated Comment System 400+ · 4.7★ (30)
wp.org #24 4 too low 21 
Magic Export & Import 200+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #8 13 too high 22 
Export/Import Media – CSV Media Library Import & Export 1K+ · 3.7★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #6 16 too high 23 
Blogger Import Wizard – Blogger to WordPress Importer 80+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↑5 7 too high 24 Import Users & Customers with Meta | WP Ultimate CSV Importer Add-on 5K+ · 3.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #7 17 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.