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

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 orders”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

Block Specific Spam Woo Orders shows at wp.org #6 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 10 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 #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

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

WP Armour – Honeypot Anti Spam 400K+ · 5.0★ (1472) wp.org #7 ↓1 4 too low 4

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too low 6

Gravity Forms Zero Spam 100K+ · 4.3★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #3 3 too high 7

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #14 ↓2 7 too low 8

ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #4 ↑4 4 too high 9

Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #11 2 too low 10

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #18 ↑1 8 too low 11

oopspam Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for WordPress Forms & Comments (No CAPTCHA) 6K+ · 4.9★ (51) wp.org #9 2 too high 12

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #15 ↑1 3 too low 13

MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) wp.org #16 ↓3 3 too low 14

Trakoo – Orders Tracking for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (58) wp.org #10 4 too high 15

Block Specific Spam Woo Orders 1K+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #6 ↓1 9 too high 16

Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #20 4 too low 17

Invisible Anti-Spam & CAPTCHA — reCAPTCHA Alternative for All Forms 5K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #12 ↑3 5 too high 18

CWILL (Formerly ParcelPanel) – Shipment Tracking, Tracking & Order Tracking for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.9★ (538) wp.org #22 ↑2 4 too low 19

Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too low 20

SilentShield – Captcha & Anti-Spam for WordPress (CF7, WPForms, Elementor, WooCommerce) 10K+ · 4.7★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↑1 7 too high 21

Spam Protect for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.1★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too high 22

WebToffee EU Order Withdrawal Button for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #23 1 too low 23

EU Order Withdrawal Button for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.6★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↑2 4 too high 24

Contact Form to Chat Apps | Click to Chat to Order – FormyChat 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews 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.