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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “human id”

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 “human id”, 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

WP Sitemap Pages and Posts shows at wp.org #8 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 1K+ 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.

Buried gem

Translate WordPress – Google Language Translator places #4 on merit, 4.7★ from 620 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #1 2 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Starbox – the Author Box for Humans 10K+ · 4.5★ (203) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Translate WordPress – Google Language Translator 100K+ · 4.7★ (620) wp.org #13 ↑2 9 too low 5 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #12 7 too low 6 Geolocation IP Detection 20K+ · 4.7★ (59) wp.org #10 ↑1 4 too low 7 Login No Captcha reCAPTCHA 50K+ · 4.5★ (63) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too high 8 DevDome Analytics: Bot Traffic vs Human Traffic Website Statistics 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #2 6 too high 9 SilentShield – Captcha & Anti-Spam for WordPress (CF7, WPForms, Elementor, WooCommerce) 10K+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #5 ↑1 4 too high 10 DTX – Dynamic Text Extension for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.7★ (99) wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too high 11 oopspam Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for WordPress Forms & Comments (No CAPTCHA) 6K+ · 4.9★ (51) wp.org #14 3 too low 12 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #11 ↑13 1 too high 13 Invisible Anti-Spam & CAPTCHA — reCAPTCHA Alternative for All Forms 4K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #18 ↑1 5 too low 14 Image CAPTCHA for Contact Form 7 and WPForms by HookAndHook (DSGVO/GDPR) 70K+ · 4.7★ (49) wp.org #20 ↑2 6 too low 15 Accessibility by AllAccessible 2K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #16 ↑1 1 too low 16 ThinkRank SEO – AI SEO Plugin for SEO & Google Search Console 20K+ · 4.9★ (36) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 Traffic Monitor 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too high 19 GPX Route Map 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #19 ↓1 20 Human Reply – Live Chat with Telegram — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↑5 13 too high 21 Compromise Scanner for wp2shell 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↓2 6 too high 22 WP Sitemap Pages and Posts 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↑1 14 too high 23 Mescio for Agents 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Input Masks for Elementor Forms 600+ · 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.