Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “recent 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 “recent comments”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Turn Comments Off shows at wp.org #5 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

AMP for WP – Accelerated Mobile Pages places #7 on merit, 4.4★ from 1319 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Disable Comments 1M+ · 4.7★ (281) wp.org #1 2 Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #6 ↑1 3 too low 4 Disable Comments 100K+ · 3.8★ (25) wp.org #2 ↑1 2 too high 5 Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406) wp.org #11 ↓1 6 too low 6 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7 AMP for WP – Accelerated Mobile Pages 70K+ · 4.4★ (1319) wp.org #21 14 too low 8 Decent Comments 2K+ · 4.6★ (20) wp.org #9 ↓3 1 too low 9 R Recent Comments Widget with Comment Excerpts 100+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #4 5 too high 10 Ultimate Post Kit – Elementor Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider & Blog Layout Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #17 ↓1 7 too low 11 Disqus Comment System 30K+ · 2.7★ (219) wp.org #10 ↑1 1 too high 12 Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 Simple Blog Stats 4K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #20 ↓1 7 too low 14 C Custom Post Type Widgets 10K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 Comment Link Remove and Other Comment Tools 8K+ · 4.1★ (15) wp.org #7 ↑1 8 too high 16 Unbloater 5K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too low 17 Turn Comments Off 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 12 too high 18 D Dashboard Commander 800+ · 4.8★ (8) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 ThemeZee Widget Bundle 5K+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 Remoji – Post/Comment Reaction and Enhancement 300+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #23 ↑1 3 too low 21 MM Comment Manager — Disable Comment Box, Hide Existing Comments and Stop Spam 800+ · 3.4★ (5) wp.org #12 9 too high 22 Disabler 900+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #24 ↓1 2 too low 23 Init Recent Comments – Templated, Modern, Minimal 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too high 24 R Recent Comments Widget with Excerpts 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 6 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.