Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “dnsbl”

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 “dnsbl”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 2 of the top 15. 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 AntiSpam for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #1 2 CM E-Mail Blacklist – Simple email filtering for safer registration 700+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 WP Helper Premium 1K+ · 3.6★ (8) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Tornevall Networks DNSBL Implementation 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too high 5 WordSec – Malware Scanner & Removal, Web Application Firewall (WAF), and 2FA 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 6 A Astounding Spam Prevention 100+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 DeliverScope — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 8 DadsFam AntiSpam 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 9 SaferCheckout Lite – Fraud prevention for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Elevoire Email Delivery Doctor — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 Spamify – Elastic Spam Shield — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 NimblyMail SMTP – SMTP, Gmail, Outlook & Amazon SES Email Log and Deliverability Plugin — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 13 Blueternal BOLT Security Toolkit — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 14 A abuse.ch httpBL check 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 S Spam IP Blocker 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 1 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.