wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “disable comments on posts”

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 “disable comments on posts”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Simply Disable Comments shows at wp.org #3 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 8K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 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 #16. 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 2

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #4 2 too low 3

Disable Comments 100K+ · 3.8★ (25) wp.org #2 1 too high 4

Disable Comments & Delete All Comments 9K+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) heavy footprint wp.org #9 4 too low 6

Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #8 2 too low 7

WP Comment Cleaner – Delete All Comments, Disable Comments, Bulk Delete & Remove Comments 20K+ · 4.7★ (58) wp.org #7 8

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too low 9

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #10 ↑3 11

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #16 5 too low 12

Disable Bloat for WordPress & WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (100) wp.org #15 3 too low 13

SchedulePress – Auto Post & Publish, Auto Social Share, Schedule Posts with Editorial Calendar & Missed Schedule Post Publisher 10K+ · 4.6★ (201) wp.org #17 4 too low 14

Simply Disable Comments 8K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #3 11 too high 15

Disable Everything 30K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #6 9 too high 16

Delete Duplicate Posts 10K+ · 4.8★ (153) wp.org #24 8 too low 17

Category Posts Block 40K+ · 4.5★ (79) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19

Disable Blog 20K+ · 4.7★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too high 20

Disable Feeds WP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #14 6 too high 21

ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #19 2 too high 22

Featherweight 10K+ · 4.1★ (45) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23

Bulk Delete Comments 5K+ · 3.8★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too high 24 S Subscribe to Comments 10K+ · 3.9★ (14) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓1 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.