wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “user 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 “user comments”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 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
Disable Comments shows at wp.org #2 but places #6 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its 100K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.8★ average from 25 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Disable Comments 1M+ · 4.7★ (281)
wp.org #1 2 
User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832)
wp.org #3 ↑2 1 too low 3 
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221)
wp.org #5 ↑2 2 too low 4 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #4 5 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #6 ↓3 1 too low 6 Disable Comments 100K+ · 3.8★ (25)
wp.org #2 ↑4 4 too high 7 
Stop User Enumeration 60K+ · 4.9★ (132)
wp.org #7 ↑1 8 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint
wp.org #8 ↑1 9 
Comments – wpDiscuz 60K+ · 4.7★ (581) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 ↑1 10 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #12 2 too low 11 
WP User Manager – Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile Builder & Member Directory 10K+ · 4.7★ (350) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 12 
User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission 20K+ · 4.1★ (537) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #10 ↑8 2 too high 13 
Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259)
wp.org #21 8 too low 14 
One User Avatar | User Profile Picture 100K+ · 4.7★ (41)
wp.org #13 1 too high 15 
Open User Map – Interactive Leaflet Maps 10K+ · 5.0★ (70)
wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too low 16 
WP Comment Cleaner – Delete All Comments, Disable Comments, Bulk Delete & Remove Comments 20K+ · 4.7★ (58)
wp.org #15 1 too high 17 
Disable Comments & Delete All Comments 9K+ · 5.0★ (41)
wp.org #14 3 too high 18 
User Access Manager 10K+ · 4.4★ (112)
wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too high 19 
Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74)
wp.org #16 3 too high 20 
WPFront User Role Editor 30K+ · 4.5★ (65)
wp.org #24 4 too low 21 
ProfilePress – Paid Membership, Online Courses (LMS), Ecommerce, User Registration & Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content 100K+ · 3.1★ (938) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #19 ↓2 2 too high 22 
Simple User Avatar 20K+ · 4.6★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #20 2 too high 23 
Genial Comments 4K+ · 4.8★ (20) thin reviews
wp.org #22 1 too high 24 S Subscribe to Comments 10K+ · 3.9★ (14) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #23 1 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.