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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “restrict 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 “restrict comments”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 6 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

Comment Link Remove and Other Comment Tools shows at wp.org #6 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 8K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.1★ average from 15 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 418 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 Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #4 3 too low 2 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Restrict – membership, site, content and user access restrictions for WordPress 2K+ · 4.2★ (25) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 S Subscribe to Comments 10K+ · 3.9★ (14) wp.org #1 4 too high 6 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 Disabled Source, Disabled Right Click and Content Protection 10K+ · 4.9★ (103) wp.org #15 4 too low 12 Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 WP-Members Membership Plugin 50K+ · 4.6★ (272) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 oopspam Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for WordPress Forms & Comments (No CAPTCHA) 6K+ · 4.9★ (51) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 Loco Translate 1M+ · 4.8★ (453) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88) wp.org #16 17 Simply Static – The Static Site Generator 30K+ · 4.5★ (195) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 Stop User Enumeration 60K+ · 4.9★ (132) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 ProfilePress – Paid Membership, Online Courses (LMS), Ecommerce, User Registration & Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content 100K+ · 3.1★ (938) wp.org #10 9 too high 20 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 Comment Link Remove and Other Comment Tools 8K+ · 4.1★ (15) wp.org #6 15 too high 22 Bulk Delete 30K+ · 4.3★ (129) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 SiteGuard WP Plugin 600K+ · 4.3★ (15) wp.org #8 15 too high 24 Remoji – Post/Comment Reaction and Enhancement 300+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #24

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.