wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wp 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 “wp comments”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 5 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
WP Hide & Security Enhancer shows at wp.org #17 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 50K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 275 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
WP Armour – Honeypot Anti Spam places #12 on merit, 5.0★ from 1471 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.
Disable Comments 1M+ · 4.7★ (281)
wp.org #1 2 
WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346)
wp.org #2 ↑2 3 
WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617)
wp.org #3 ↓1 4 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220)
wp.org #9 4 too low 6 
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) heavy footprint
wp.org #5 ↑14 1 too high 7 
WP Accessibility 60K+ · 4.8★ (68)
wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8 
All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720)
wp.org #10 ↓3 2 too low 9 
WP Reset 300K+ · 4.8★ (1014)
wp.org #12 ↓4 3 too low 10 
WP Comment Cleaner – Delete All Comments, Disable Comments, Bulk Delete & Remove Comments 20K+ · 4.7★ (58)
wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too high 11 W WP Photo Album Plus 10K+ · 4.7★ (199) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 ↑4 3 too high 12 WP Armour – Honeypot Anti Spam 400K+ · 5.0★ (1471)
wp.org #19 ↓2 7 too low 13 
Comments – wpDiscuz 60K+ · 4.7★ (581) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too high 14 
Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053)
wp.org #21 ↓5 7 too low 15 
WP-Sweep 100K+ · 4.7★ (138)
wp.org #14 ↓3 1 too high 16 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #15 ↓2 1 too high 17 
Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373)
wp.org #20 ↑4 3 too low 18 
Disable Comments & Delete All Comments 9K+ · 5.0★ (41)
wp.org #13 ↑2 5 too high 19 
WP Umbrella: Security Backup Restore & Monitoring 90K+ · 4.8★ (81)
wp.org #16 ↓2 3 too high 20 
WP Recipe Maker 50K+ · 5.0★ (356) heavy footprint
wp.org #22 ↓2 2 too low 21 
Ajaxify Comments – Ajax and Lazy Loading Comments 3K+ · 4.8★ (91)
wp.org #18 3 too high 22 
WP Bulk Delete 90K+ · 4.6★ (131)
wp.org #23 ↓2 1 too low 23 WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #17 ↑5 6 too high 24 
Simply Disable Comments 8K+ · 5.0★ (4) 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.