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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “spambot”

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 “spambot”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 3 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 Blacklist Updater shows at wp.org #11 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 800+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #1 2 Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses and Phone Numbers 90K+ · 4.9★ (94) wp.org #2 3 W WP Customer Reviews 20K+ · 4.3★ (528) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Block Specific Spam Woo Orders 1K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 La Sentinelle antispam 3K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too low 6 CryptX 10K+ · 4.5★ (20) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Volunteer Sign Up Sheets 1K+ · 4.9★ (42) wp.org #14 ↑1 7 too low 8 Pixeline’s Email Protector 900+ · 4.3★ (8) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 En Spam 500+ · 4.1★ (7) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Analytics Spam Blocker 800+ · 3.9★ (14) wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too high 11 Zigaform – Price Calculator & Cost Estimation Form Builder Lite 100+ · 4.6★ (23) wp.org #21 10 too low 12 Extensions For CF7 (Contact form 7 Database, Conditional Fields and Redirection) 5K+ · 4.9★ (8) wp.org #16 ↑1 4 too low 13 CIDRAM 20+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too low 14 Easy Spam Filter – Privacy-Friendly CAPTCHA Alternative with Turnstile for Contact Form 7, WPForms, BuddyPress, Elementor 1K+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too high 15 Cryptex | E-Mail Address Protection 800+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #10 ↑1 5 too high 16 Skt NURCaptcha 100+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 Comment Blacklist Updater 800+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #11 ↑1 6 too high 18 FV Antispam 800+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #15 ↑1 3 too high 19 PRyC WP: AntiSPAM (without CAPTCHA) 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↑1 6 too high 20 Universal Honey Pot 1K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too high 21 Multi-Form Anti-Spam Image CAPTCHA 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↑1 2 too high 22 Form Guardian for Contact Form 7 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 AllProWebTools Leadboxes 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 24 B Brightery Absolute Comment Blocker — · 5.0★ (1) 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.