wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “google 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 “google captcha”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Power Captcha reCAPTCHA shows at wp.org #9 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 10 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

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 2144 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Advanced Google reCAPTCHA 200K+ · 4.8★ (430) wp.org #1 ↑3 2

reCaptcha by BestWebSoft 100K+ · 3.9★ (391) wp.org #2 3

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #5 ↓4 2 too low 4

WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection 10K+ · 4.6★ (213) wp.org #4 5

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6

Captcha Code 100K+ · 3.9★ (35) wp.org #3 3 too high 7

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #13 ↑9 6 too low 8

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #21 ↓1 13 too low 9

Under Construction 600K+ · 4.8★ (1285) wp.org #20 ↓8 11 too low 10

Invisible Anti-Spam & CAPTCHA — reCAPTCHA Alternative for All Forms 4K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #12 ↓2 2 too low 11

LukasApps CAPTCHA tools for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.1★ (48) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #7 ↓1 6 too high 14

oopspam Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for WordPress Forms & Comments (No CAPTCHA) 6K+ · 4.9★ (51) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too low 16

WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #17 ↑6 1 too low 17

WPOrLogin – Custom Login, Social Login, CAPTCHA & Security 2K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #22 5 too low 18

Kitgenix CAPTCHA for Cloudflare Turnstile 700+ · 5.0★ (6) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #11 7 too high 19

Power Captcha reCAPTCHA 900+ · 4.3★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #9 ↓1 10 too high 20

Captchinoo, admin login page protection with Google recaptcha 300+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓3 4 too high 21

Math Captcha for Contact Form 7 300+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓3 3 too low 22

Ultimate WP Captcha 200+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓5 1 too low 23

Frontend Dashboard Captcha 60+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓3 4 too high 24

BotShield CAPTCHA for Contact Form 7 80+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #15 9 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.