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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “fake content”

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 “fake content”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 of the top 20. 4 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

Anti Fake Orders & IP Blocker shows at wp.org #7 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Pie Register – User Registration, Profiles & Content Restriction places #9 on merit, 4.2★ from 222 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #1 2 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #2 3 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #3 4 FakerPress 10K+ · 4.9★ (205) wp.org #10 ↓2 6 too low 5 AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #15 10 too low 6 Login & Register Customizer – Forms, Popup, Profile & WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.8★ (254) wp.org #13 ↓1 7 too low 7 New User Approve 20K+ · 4.3★ (131) wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too low 8 Customer Email Verification for WooCommerce – OTP Verification, Block Fake Signups 2K+ · 4.2★ (20) wp.org #5 ↑14 3 too high 9 Pie Register – User Registration, Profiles & Content Restriction 1K+ · 4.2★ (222) wp.org #20 ↓2 11 too low 10 Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) wp.org #18 ↓2 8 too low 11 Fraud Prevention For WooCommerce and EDD 4K+ · 3.7★ (23) wp.org #6 ↓1 5 too high 12 My Private Site – Make Your Whole Site Private, Force Login & Block Registration Spam 10K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #17 ↓2 5 too low 13 CAPTCHA 4WP – Antispam CAPTCHA solution for WordPress 100K+ · 3.2★ (269) wp.org #19 ↓2 6 too low 14 Checkout Shield for WooCommerce – Stop Fake Orders, Spam Bots & Card Testing 400+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #8 ↑1 6 too high 15 م محتوای جعلی فارسی | Persian Fake Contents 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 11 too high 16 Notivo Notification for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.3★ (80) wp.org #23 ↓3 7 too low 17 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #16 ↓2 1 too high 18 Anti Spam and list cleaner – AcyChecker 400+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 Fake User Detector 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↓1 8 too high 20 Content Forge – AI & non-AI content generator, scheduled AI posts, dummy data for your site 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↓2 11 too high 21 All in One Content Protector & Security 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓1 9 too high 22 R RegiVigil – Spam & Fake Account Protection 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 J JTZL's Bot Maze 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Anti Fake Orders & IP Blocker 300+ · 1.0★ (2) wp.org #7 ↓1 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.