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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “re 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 “re captcha”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

UsersWP – ReCaptcha shows at wp.org #4 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Site Reviews places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 376 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 Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #1 2 Image CAPTCHA for Contact Form 7 and WPForms by HookAndHook (DSGVO/GDPR) 70K+ · 4.7★ (49) wp.org #2 3 Advanced Google reCAPTCHA 200K+ · 4.8★ (430) wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too low 4 Invisible Anti-Spam & CAPTCHA — reCAPTCHA Alternative for All Forms 4K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too high 5 301 Redirects – Redirect Manager 300K+ · 4.7★ (578) wp.org #6 ↑3 1 too low 6 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #9 ↑3 3 too low 7 Under Construction 600K+ · 4.8★ (1285) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too low 9 WP Reset 300K+ · 4.8★ (1014) wp.org #14 ↑2 5 too low 10 Strong Testimonials 80K+ · 4.8★ (614) wp.org #15 ↑2 5 too low 11 MalCare WordPress Security Plugin – Malware Scanner, Cleaner, Security Firewall 100K+ · 4.4★ (559) wp.org #20 ↑3 9 too low 12 Site Reviews 60K+ · 4.9★ (376) wp.org #22 10 too low 13 WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) wp.org #17 ↑4 4 too low 14 Form Maker by 10Web – Mobile-Friendly Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder 30K+ · 4.5★ (778) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #12 ↑3 3 too high 16 Simple Author Box 90K+ · 4.3★ (115) wp.org #21 ↑3 5 too low 17 Captcha.eu 300+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #11 ↑3 6 too high 18 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #13 5 too high 19 UsersWP – ReCaptcha 3K+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #4 ↑1 15 too high 20 Majestic Support – The Leading-Edge Help Desk & Customer Support Plugin 3K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #16 ↑2 4 too high 21 reCaptcha by WebDesignBy 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 ↑3 14 too high 22 AyeCode Connect 10K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too high 23 Advanced Country Blocker 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Privacy CAPTCHA for Cap 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↑1 5 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.