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

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 “wpforo”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Hizzle CAPTCHA – Protect your forms from spam shows at wp.org #5 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Bit integrations – Form Integration, Webhook, Spreadsheets, CRM, LMS & Email Automation places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 160 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 wpForo Forum 20K+ · 4.7★ (390) wp.org #1 2 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 reCaptcha by BestWebSoft 100K+ · 3.9★ (391) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Schema & Structured Data for WP & AMP 100K+ · 4.5★ (252) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too high 5 hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Invisible Anti-Spam & CAPTCHA — reCAPTCHA Alternative for All Forms 4K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #7 8 GamiPress – Gamification plugin to reward points, badges & ranks in WordPress, now with AI 10K+ · 4.9★ (493) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 Bit integrations – Form Integration, Webhook, Spreadsheets, CRM, LMS & Email Automation 20K+ · 4.9★ (160) wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too low 10 Advanced Form Integration — Connect Forms to 300+ Apps 9K+ · 4.8★ (91) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too low 11 Uncanny Automator – AI + Automation for WordPress | AI Agent, AI Page Builder, Free AI Usage Included 40K+ · 4.9★ (157) wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too low 12 Hide Admin Bar Based on User Roles – Disable the WordPress Toolbar by Role or Capability 20K+ · 3.9★ (20) wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too high 13 Search Analytics for WP – Site Search Tracking 3K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #10 ↓2 3 too high 14 Bit Flows: AI Agent Automation & Integrations for Forms, CRM, eCommerce, Google Sheets, and More 1K+ · 4.9★ (64) wp.org #19 ↓1 5 too low 15 FuseWP – WordPress User Sync to Email List & Marketing Automation (Mailchimp, Constant Contact, ActiveCampaign etc.) 2K+ · 4.9★ (25) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too high 16 wp-Monalisa 600+ · 4.8★ (25) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too high 17 Captcha by BestWebSoft – Advanced Spam Protection, Math & OCR-Friendly Captcha for Site Forms 10K+ · 4.1★ (21) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too high 18 Hizzle CAPTCHA – Protect your forms from spam 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 ↑1 13 too high 19 LLM Moderator For wpForo — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too low 20 Nahnu Asset Scanner 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 2 too low 21 T Torrent Scraper for Blogs and Forums — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓2 2 too low 22 AutoReply AI & LLMS.txt Generator 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too high 23 SyGy Security Log & Anti-Bot — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 ReplyPilot AI – Real-Time AI Chatbot Assistant — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 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.