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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “remove spam”

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 “remove spam”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 4 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

Dam Spam shows at wp.org #11 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 1720 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #1 2 Spam Protection | Maspik 30K+ · 4.7★ (87) wp.org #2 3 Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection 5M+ · 4.7★ (1187) wp.org #3 4 WP Armour – Honeypot Anti Spam 400K+ · 5.0★ (1471) wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too low 5 Titan Anti-spam & Security – Brute Force Protection, 2FA & Spam Filter 50K+ · 4.5★ (370) wp.org #5 6 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too low 7 ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #4 ↑2 3 too high 8 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Zero Spam for WordPress 20K+ · 4.1★ (143) wp.org #6 ↑5 3 too high 10 oopspam Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for WordPress Forms & Comments (No CAPTCHA) 6K+ · 4.9★ (51) wp.org #10 11 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #19 ↓1 8 too low 12 MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) wp.org #17 ↓2 5 too low 13 WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection 10K+ · 4.6★ (213) wp.org #18 5 too low 14 Spam Destroyer 5K+ · 4.6★ (54) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too high 15 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #24 ↓3 9 too low 16 Invisible Anti-Spam & CAPTCHA — reCAPTCHA Alternative for All Forms 4K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #15 ↑1 1 too high 17 Disable Comments 1M+ · 4.7★ (281) wp.org #23 ↓19 6 too low 18 Smart Attachment Page Remove 900+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 SilentShield – Captcha & Anti-Spam for WordPress (CF7, WPForms, Elementor, WooCommerce) 10K+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #16 ↑1 3 too high 20 Comment Link Remove and Other Comment Tools 8K+ · 4.1★ (15) wp.org #13 ↑1 7 too high 21 Dam Spam 3K+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #11 ↑1 10 too high 22 OpenPorte Spam Protection 500+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #22 ↑3 23 Block Referer Spam 500+ · 3.4★ (21) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 Remove Website URL Field From Comment Form 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 ↓2 3 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.