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

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

HTTP Auth shows at wp.org #7 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 6K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 397 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) wp.org #1 2 Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too low 3 WP Cron HTTP Auth 1K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #3 4 WP SAML Auth 7K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Two Factor Authentication 20K+ · 4.4★ (77) wp.org #11 6 too low 6 JSON API Auth 600+ · 4.7★ (11) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #22 15 too low 8 FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #8 ↑6 9 WPS Limit Login 100K+ · 4.9★ (83) wp.org #17 ↓1 8 too low 10 WPGet API – Connect to any external REST API 10K+ · 5.0★ (32) wp.org #18 8 too low 11 JWT Authentication for WP REST API 60K+ · 4.4★ (53) wp.org #14 ↓5 3 too low 12 Simple JWT Login – Allows you to use JWT on REST endpoints. 4K+ · 5.0★ (47) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 A authLdap 4K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Connect Matomo – Analytics Dashboard for WordPress 60K+ · 4.5★ (95) wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too low 15 Email Auth – DKIM, SPF, DMARC, Bounce Address, From Address 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #6 ↑1 9 too high 16 A API Bearer Auth 300+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #9 ↓1 7 too high 17 HTTP Auth 6K+ · 4.2★ (6) wp.org #7 ↓1 10 too high 18 WP Cassify 900+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 WP Basic Authentication 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #12 7 too high 20 WP API SwaggerUI 2K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 C Contact Form 7 to API 1K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #15 7 too high 23 Easy Basic Authentication – Add basic auth to site or admin area 800+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 10 too high 24 LogixFast Auth 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 5 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.