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← Rankings

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

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 “fingerprinting”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Metadas Version Removal shows at wp.org #17 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 20+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 SilentShield – Captcha & Anti-Spam for WordPress (CF7, WPForms, Elementor, WooCommerce) 10K+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Titan Anti-spam & Security – Brute Force Protection, 2FA & Spam Filter 50K+ · 4.5★ (370) wp.org #5 ↑1 3 too low 3 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too high 4 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too high 5 AntiSpam for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 Anti-Spam Protection – No API Key, GDPR Friendly 1K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Track, Analyze & Optimize by WP Tao 600+ · 4.9★ (17) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 OpenPorte Spam Protection 500+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #7 ↑2 1 too high 9 SweepWidget – Giveaway, Contest, Sweepstakes, Competition & Photo Contest Plugin 100+ · 4.3★ (14) wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too low 10 Customize My Account for WooCommerce – Custom Tabs, Login, Registration, 2FA & Design 900+ · 3.4★ (5) wp.org #6 ↑1 4 too high 11 Logic Hop – Dynamic Content Personalization for WordPress 70+ · 4.5★ (10) wp.org #20 ↑1 9 too low 12 wallee 400+ · 2.7★ (9) wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too high 13 Scoby Analytics 30+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too high 14 GT Link Manager 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 GateCHA CAPTCHA 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↑2 4 too high 16 BaseCloud Security Manager 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 TechArk Spam Shield for Contact Form 7 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↑1 3 too high 18 VR Payment 90+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↑3 3 too high 19 HapiGuard – Invalid Click Protection for AdSense, Ad Manager & Auto Ads 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↑1 1 too high 20 OptimWP 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↑1 1 too high 21 GreenPay Payment Service 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 22 Metadas Version Removal 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 Fraud Blocker — Click Fraud Protection 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 BotFend Anti-Bot Firewall 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 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.