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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “image 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 “image captcha”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

ZigZag Image Captcha for Contact Form 7 shows at wp.org #10 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 60+ 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

Advanced Google reCAPTCHA places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 430 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Image CAPTCHA for Contact Form 7 and WPForms by HookAndHook (DSGVO/GDPR) 70K+ · 4.7★ (49) wp.org #1 2 Really Simple CAPTCHA 300K+ · 4.2★ (131) wp.org #2 3 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Captcha Code 100K+ · 3.9★ (35) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Friendly Captcha for WordPress 10K+ · 3.9★ (18) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Advanced Google reCAPTCHA 200K+ · 4.8★ (430) wp.org #18 ↓1 12 too low 7 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #19 12 too low 8 SilentShield – Captcha & Anti-Spam for WordPress (CF7, WPForms, Elementor, WooCommerce) 10K+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 Invisible Anti-Spam & CAPTCHA — reCAPTCHA Alternative for All Forms 4K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too low 10 Photo Gallery by 10Web – Mobile-Friendly Image Gallery 100K+ · 4.5★ (1581) wp.org #17 ↑1 7 too low 11 Captcha by BestWebSoft – Advanced Spam Protection, Math & OCR-Friendly Captcha for Site Forms 10K+ · 4.1★ (21) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 D DS CF7 Math Captcha 10K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 Simple Login Captcha 10K+ · 3.9★ (17) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 B Blue Captcha 400+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too high 15 WPOrLogin – Custom Login, Social Login, CAPTCHA & Security 2K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 Kitgenix CAPTCHA for Cloudflare Turnstile 700+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too high 17 Captcha Ajax 100+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 Easy Spam Filter – Privacy-Friendly CAPTCHA Alternative with Turnstile for Contact Form 7, WPForms, BuddyPress, Elementor 1K+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 SiteGuard WP Plugin 600K+ · 4.3★ (15) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 ZigZag Image Captcha for Contact Form 7 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 10 too high 21 Ultimate WP Captcha 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 22 Multi-Form Anti-Spam Image CAPTCHA 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓1 8 too high 23 BotShield CAPTCHA for Contact Form 7 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 8 too high 24 Mailster Cool Captcha 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24

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.