wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “duplicate comments”
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 “duplicate comments”, we and wp.org disagree 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
Duplicate Killer – Prevent Duplicate Form Submissions shows at wp.org #6 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Polylang places #8 on merit, 4.7★ from 3004 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Delete Duplicate Posts 10K+ · 4.8★ (153)
wp.org #3 2 too low 2 
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221)
wp.org #7 5 too low 3 
Duplicate Post – duplicate pages, copy content, clone posts 5K+ · 4.7★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #1 2 too high 4 
Ajaxify Comments – Ajax and Lazy Loading Comments 3K+ · 4.8★ (91)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
Duplicate Page and Post 70K+ · 4.6★ (29) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #2 3 too high 6 
Duplicate PP 10K+ · 4.4★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #4 2 too high 7 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #10 3 too low 8 Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3004)
wp.org #15 7 too low 9 
Orbit Fox: Duplicate Page, Menu Icons, SVG Support, Cookie Notice, Custom Fonts & More 100K+ · 4.8★ (317) not PHP-current
wp.org #11 2 too low 10 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #17 7 too low 11 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #12 1 too low 12 
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #18 6 too low 13 
WP Bulk Delete 90K+ · 4.6★ (131)
wp.org #14 1 too low 14 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #21 7 too low 15 
Post Duplicator 200K+ · 4.8★ (80)
wp.org #16 1 too low 16 
ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #8 8 too high 17 
Social comments by WpDevArt 7K+ · 4.3★ (42)
wp.org #13 4 too high 18 
Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) not PHP-current
wp.org #23 5 too low 19 Duplicate Killer – Prevent Duplicate Form Submissions 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #6 13 too high 20 
Duplicate Page or Post 9K+ · 4.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #9 11 too high 21 
Disqus Comment System 30K+ · 2.7★ (219)
wp.org #22 1 too low 22 
Duplicate All – Posts & Pages 80+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #19 3 too high 23 
Quick Copy – Duplicate Posts & Pages 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #20 3 too high 24 
WP Comment Notification 400+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #24 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.