wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “active logins”

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 “active logins”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 2 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

Persistent Login shows at wp.org #6 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.9★ average from 26 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 3220 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

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

Online Active Users 2K+ · 4.7★ (51) wp.org #2 3

Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4

WPS Hide Login 2M+ · 4.8★ (2111) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5

Active Directory Integration / LDAP Integration 4K+ · 4.9★ (211) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6

Next Active Directory Integration 2K+ · 4.8★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #3 3 too high 7

Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #9 ↑4 2 too low 8

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #11 3 too low 9

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too low 10

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #14 ↑2 4 too low 11

WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection 10K+ · 4.6★ (213) wp.org #10 1 too high 12

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #12 13

Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #8 ↓1 5 too high 14

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #20 6 too low 15

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #21 ↓4 6 too low 16

Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (590) heavy footprint wp.org #18 ↓9 2 too low 17

Simple Membership 40K+ · 4.6★ (475) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #15 2 too high 18

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #19 1 too low 19

Persistent Login 5K+ · 3.9★ (26) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 ↓2 13 too high 20

Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) not PHP-current wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22

Clean Login 5K+ · 4.7★ (144) wp.org #24 2 too low 23

When Last Login 40K+ · 4.7★ (37) wp.org #17 ↓2 6 too high 24

WP Last Login 10K+ · 3.8★ (26) wp.org #16 ↑2 8 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.