wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “last 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 “last comments”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Zeno Report Comments shows at wp.org #7 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 1962 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Disable Comments 1M+ · 4.7★ (281) wp.org #1 2

Comments – wpDiscuz 60K+ · 4.7★ (581) wp.org #2 ↓1 3

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #3 ↓1 4

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too low 6

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #6 ↓1 7

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #10 ↓3 3 too low 8

The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #11 ↑3 3 too low 9

WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #9 ↑3 10

Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) wp.org #13 ↑8 3 too low 11

Advanced Database Cleaner – Optimize & Clean Database to Speed Up Site Performance 100K+ · 4.9★ (1962) wp.org #17 ↓6 6 too low 12

ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #4 ↓1 8 too high 13

Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #12 ↓2 1 too high 14

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4229) wp.org #19 4 too low 16

AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #24 8 too low 17

GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #15 ↓2 2 too high 18

Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #21 3 too low 19

Zeno Report Comments 200+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #7 ↓1 12 too high 20

Loco Translate 1M+ · 4.8★ (453) wp.org #23 ↓3 3 too low 21

oopspam Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for WordPress Forms & Comments (No CAPTCHA) 6K+ · 4.9★ (51) wp.org #18 ↓2 3 too high 22

Comments – GraphComment | AI-Moderated Comment System 400+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too high 23

WordPress Importer 2M+ · 3.1★ (327) wp.org #20 ↓3 3 too high 24

Comment Mention 100+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓4 2 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.