wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “2fa login”

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 “2fa login”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20.

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

Two Factor (2FA) Authentication via Email shows at wp.org #9 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 9K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) places #12 on merit, 5.0★ from 423 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint wp.org #1 2

WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184) wp.org #2 ↑2 3

Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1488) wp.org #3 ↓1 4

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #10 ↑2 3 too low 8

Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too low 11

Theme My Login 50K+ · 3.7★ (460) wp.org #11 ↓2 12

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too low 13

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #12 1 too high 14

All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #7 7 too high 15

LoginPress | wp-login Custom Login Page Customizer 200K+ · 4.8★ (1077) not PHP-current wp.org #22 ↓2 7 too low 16

Custom Login Page Customizer 80K+ · 4.8★ (410) not PHP-current wp.org #21 ↓3 5 too low 17

Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) not PHP-current wp.org #18 ↓4 1 too low 18

Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #16 ↑6 2 too high 19

Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) not PHP-current wp.org #24 5 too low 20

When Last Login 40K+ · 4.7★ (37) wp.org #19 ↓4 1 too high 21

FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #15 ↑2 7 too high 23

Melapress Login Security 3K+ · 4.8★ (20) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24

Two Factor (2FA) Authentication via Email 9K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #9 ↑1 15 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.