wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “website 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 “website comments”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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
Bulk Delete Comments shows at wp.org #14 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.8★ average from 13 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 4699 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #1 2 
Disable Comments 1M+ · 4.7★ (281)
wp.org #2 3 
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221)
wp.org #6 3 too low 4 
WP Comment Cleaner – Delete All Comments, Disable Comments, Bulk Delete & Remove Comments 20K+ · 4.7★ (58)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint
wp.org #8 3 too low 6 
Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 1M+ · 4.9★ (4755)
wp.org #11 ↑1 5 too low 7 
Disable Comments 100K+ · 3.8★ (25)
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 too high 8 
MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #7 1 too high 9 
Website LLMs.txt 50K+ · 4.7★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 too high 10 
Comments – wpDiscuz 60K+ · 4.7★ (581) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 1 too high 11 Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode 600K+ · 4.9★ (4699)
wp.org #19 ↑4 8 too low 12 
Meta Box – A Framework for Dynamic Websites 500K+ · 4.8★ (165)
wp.org #12 ↑1 13 
Disable Comments & Delete All Comments 9K+ · 5.0★ (41)
wp.org #10 3 too high 14 
All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720)
wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too low 15 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #24 9 too low 16 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #20 ↓9 4 too low 17 
Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer 400K+ · 4.5★ (81)
wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too high 18 
Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) not PHP-current
wp.org #22 ↓1 4 too low 19 
Lazy Load for Comments 2K+ · 4.7★ (28)
wp.org #15 ↑2 4 too high 20 
ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↑3 7 too high 21 
Social comments by WpDevArt 7K+ · 4.3★ (42)
wp.org #21 ↓1 22 Bulk Delete Comments 5K+ · 3.8★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #14 8 too high 23 
Comment Link Remove and Other Comment Tools 8K+ · 4.1★ (15) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↑1 6 too high 24 
MM Comment Manager — Disable Comment Box, Hide Existing Comments and Stop Spam 800+ · 3.4★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓1 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.