wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “recaptcha”

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 “recaptcha”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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 #8 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 12 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

Maintenance places #12 on merit, 4.4★ from 869 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Advanced Google reCAPTCHA 200K+ · 4.8★ (430) wp.org #1 2

Invisible reCaptcha 70K+ · 4.3★ (133) wp.org #2 3

ReCaptcha v2 for Contact Form 7 200K+ · 5.0★ (89) wp.org #3 4

reCaptcha by BestWebSoft 100K+ · 3.9★ (391) wp.org #4 5

reCAPTCHA for WooCommerce 40K+ · 4.6★ (76) wp.org #5 6

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #9 3 too low 7

Invisible Anti-Spam & CAPTCHA — reCAPTCHA Alternative for All Forms 4K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #7 8

Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #17 ↑1 9 too low 9

Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) not PHP-current wp.org #12 2 too low 11

Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) not PHP-current wp.org #21 ↑3 10 too low 12

Maintenance 1M+ · 4.4★ (869) wp.org #23 11 too low 13

CAPTCHA 4WP – Antispam CAPTCHA solution for WordPress 100K+ · 3.2★ (269) wp.org #20 7 too low 14

ReCaptcha Integration for WordPress 9K+ · 4.4★ (95) wp.org #24 ↓3 10 too low 15

LukasApps CAPTCHA tools for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.1★ (48) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #14 2 too high 17

reCAPTCHA for Asgaros Forum 4K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↑2 7 too high 18

CF7 Invisible reCAPTCHA 6K+ · 3.1★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #13 5 too high 19 R reCaptcha for WooCommerce 500+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↑1 8 too high 20

UsersWP – ReCaptcha 3K+ · 4.5★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #8 ↑2 12 too high 21

Power Captcha reCAPTCHA 900+ · 4.3★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #15 6 too high 22

reCaptcha by WebDesignBy 200+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #18 4 too high 23

reCAPTCHA V3 for Jetpack 400+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too high 24

Mailster reCaptcha 1K+ · 2.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #22 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.