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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “free captcha”

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 “free captcha”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 3 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

Power Captcha reCAPTCHA shows at wp.org #12 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 900+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Advanced Google reCAPTCHA places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 430 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 Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #1 2 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #2 3 WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection 10K+ · 4.6★ (213) wp.org #3 4 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 reCaptcha by BestWebSoft 100K+ · 3.9★ (391) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Image CAPTCHA for Contact Form 7 and WPForms by HookAndHook (DSGVO/GDPR) 70K+ · 4.7★ (49) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 SilentShield – Captcha & Anti-Spam for WordPress (CF7, WPForms, Elementor, WooCommerce) 10K+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #4 ↑1 3 too high 8 Under Construction 600K+ · 4.8★ (1285) wp.org #16 ↓1 8 too low 9 CAPTCHA 4WP – Antispam CAPTCHA solution for WordPress 100K+ · 3.2★ (269) wp.org #9 10 301 Redirects – Redirect Manager 300K+ · 4.7★ (578) wp.org #18 8 too low 11 Advanced Google reCAPTCHA 200K+ · 4.8★ (430) wp.org #20 ↓1 9 too low 12 Invisible Anti-Spam & CAPTCHA — reCAPTCHA Alternative for All Forms 4K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #15 ↑2 3 too low 13 Captcha by BestWebSoft – Advanced Spam Protection, Math & OCR-Friendly Captcha for Site Forms 10K+ · 4.1★ (21) wp.org #8 5 too high 14 Login Security Captcha 10K+ · 4.9★ (20) wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too high 15 hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88) wp.org #22 ↓2 7 too low 16 LukasApps CAPTCHA tools for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.1★ (48) wp.org #10 6 too high 17 oopspam Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for WordPress Forms & Comments (No CAPTCHA) 6K+ · 4.9★ (51) wp.org #21 4 too low 18 Funnelforms Free – Multi Step Form, Contact Form & Lead Funnel Builder 1K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 Web Directory plugin Free – AI powered 300+ · 4.1★ (20) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 Kitgenix CAPTCHA for Cloudflare Turnstile 700+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #17 ↓4 3 too high 21 Power Captcha reCAPTCHA 900+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #12 9 too high 22 Easy Spam Filter – Privacy-Friendly CAPTCHA Alternative with Turnstile for Contact Form 7, WPForms, BuddyPress, Elementor 1K+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 Kaya Login Captcha 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↑2 9 too high 24 BotShield CAPTCHA for Contact Form 7 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.