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

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

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Dam Spam shows at wp.org #8 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 13 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

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 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 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 #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 Zero Spam for WordPress 20K+ · 4.1★ (143) wp.org #5 ↑3 1 too low 5 Titan Anti-spam & Security – Brute Force Protection, 2FA & Spam Filter 50K+ · 4.5★ (370) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 too high 8 Antispam Bee 700K+ · 4.8★ (226) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #15 ↑1 6 too low 10 Gravity Forms Zero Spam 100K+ · 4.3★ (24) wp.org #6 ↓1 4 too high 11 oopspam Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for WordPress Forms & Comments (No CAPTCHA) 6K+ · 4.9★ (51) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #23 ↓1 11 too low 13 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too low 14 WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection 10K+ · 4.6★ (213) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 Spam Destroyer 5K+ · 4.6★ (54) wp.org #12 ↑1 3 too high 16 Invisible Anti-Spam & CAPTCHA — reCAPTCHA Alternative for All Forms 5K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #16 ↑7 17 SilentShield – Captcha & Anti-Spam for WordPress (CF7, WPForms, Elementor, WooCommerce) 10K+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too high 18 Anti-Spam Protection – No API Key, GDPR Friendly 1K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #14 ↑1 4 too high 19 Honeypot Anti-Spam 10K+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too low 20 Block Specific Spam Woo Orders 1K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too high 21 Dam Spam 3K+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #8 ↓2 13 too high 22 Spam Protect for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.1★ (12) wp.org #22 ↓1 23 OpenPorte Spam Protection 500+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Honeypot Guard – Silent Anti-Spam 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓1 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.