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

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 “authenticate”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Faust.js shows at wp.org #13 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

SAML Single Sign On – SSO Login places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 402 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 HTTP Headers 40K+ · 4.3★ (70) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 Authorizer 6K+ · 5.0★ (20) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 Gmail SMTP 10K+ · 4.1★ (103) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 SAML Single Sign On – SSO Login 10K+ · 4.9★ (402) wp.org #12 ↓1 6 too low 7 JWT Authentication for WP REST APIs 10K+ · 4.4★ (74) wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too low 8 Next Active Directory Integration 2K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #5 ↑1 3 too high 9 O OpenID Connect Generic Client 10K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too high 10 Active Directory Integration / LDAP Integration 4K+ · 4.9★ (211) wp.org #14 ↑1 4 too low 11 SMTP Mailer 70K+ · 4.6★ (67) wp.org #10 ↓3 1 too high 12 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #18 ↓5 6 too low 13 JSON API Auth 600+ · 4.7★ (11) wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too high 14 O OneLogin SAML SSO 7K+ · 4.4★ (14) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 WP-UserOnline 10K+ · 4.6★ (38) wp.org #23 ↓1 8 too low 16 GSheetConnector – Elementor Forms Google Sheet Connector to Sync Submissions to Google Sheets 9K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #15 ↑1 1 too high 17 All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #17 ↑6 18 GSheetConnector – WPForms Google Sheets Connector, Save WPForms Lite & PRO Entries to Database & Sheets 7K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #22 ↓2 4 too low 19 Faust.js 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too high 20 GSheetConnector – WooCommerce Google Sheets Connector, Export Orders & Products to Google Sheets in Real-Time 3K+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #19 ↓2 1 too high 21 S SSO for Entra ID 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #16 ↓2 5 too high 22 AI Provider For DeepSeek 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 GSheetConnector – Ninja Forms Google Sheets Connector, Export Form Submissions Instant Sync to Sheets 1K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #21 ↓2 2 too high 24 ZIP AI – AI Website Builder & AI Agent 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓2 4 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.