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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “hide 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 “hide comments”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 2 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

MM Comment Manager — Disable Comment Box, Hide Existing Comments and Stop Spam shows at wp.org #8 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 800+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.4★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) places #8 on merit, 5.0★ from 423 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Disable Comments 1M+ · 4.7★ (281) wp.org #1 2 Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #2 ↑2 3 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) wp.org #4 ↓2 5 Disable Comments & Delete All Comments 9K+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #5 6 Disable Comments 100K+ · 3.8★ (25) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #19 ↓6 12 too low 8 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #22 ↓4 14 too low 9 Auto Hide Admin Bar 3K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too low 10 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #16 ↓2 6 too low 11 Comments Like Dislike 4K+ · 4.6★ (38) wp.org #11 ↓1 12 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #24 12 too low 13 Bulk Delete Comments 5K+ · 3.8★ (13) wp.org #7 6 too high 14 Simple Comment Editing 2K+ · 4.8★ (55) wp.org #21 ↑1 7 too low 15 Hide Admin Bar Based on User Roles – Disable the WordPress Toolbar by Role or Capability 20K+ · 3.9★ (20) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 S Subscribe to Comments 10K+ · 3.9★ (14) wp.org #9 7 too high 17 Hide from Search 3K+ · 4.4★ (17) wp.org #18 ↓2 1 too low 18 Zeno Report Comments 200+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #23 ↓4 5 too low 19 Comment Link Remove and Other Comment Tools 8K+ · 4.1★ (15) wp.org #17 ↓2 2 too high 20 MM Comment Manager — Disable Comment Box, Hide Existing Comments and Stop Spam 800+ · 3.4★ (5) wp.org #8 12 too high 21 Hide Trackbacks 300+ · 4.7★ (6) wp.org #15 ↓3 6 too high 22 Hide Comment Author Link 1K+ · 4.1★ (9) wp.org #20 ↓3 2 too high 23 Hide Archive Label 900+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓1 11 too high 24 Hide Author Archive 600+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 11 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.