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

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 “authenticator”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Email OTP Authenticator – Login, Register & 2FA shows at wp.org #7 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 12 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) places #9 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★ (5038) heavy footprint wp.org #1 2

Google Authenticator 20K+ · 4.3★ (135) wp.org #2 3

WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184) wp.org #4 ↑4 1 too low 4

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5

miniOrange 2FA – Two Factor Authentication for WordPress (OTP, SMS, Email, Google Authenticator) 10K+ · 4.5★ (385) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6

Two Factor 100K+ · 4.7★ (209) wp.org #9 3 too low 7

Authenticator 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #3 4 too high 8

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #17 8 too low 10

Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) not PHP-current wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too low 11

Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too high 13

Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #22 9 too low 14

Two Factor Authentication 20K+ · 4.4★ (77) wp.org #13 1 too high 15

Theme My Login 50K+ · 3.7★ (460) wp.org #18 2 too low 17

Titan Anti-spam & Security – Brute Force Protection, 2FA & Spam Filter 50K+ · 4.5★ (370) not PHP-current wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too low 18

AJAX Login and Registration modal popup + inline form 3K+ · 4.7★ (120) wp.org #20 2 too low 19

FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #10 ↑2 9 too high 20

Email OTP Authenticator – Login, Register & 2FA 100+ · 5.0★ (12) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #7 ↓1 13 too high 21

All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #24 ↓8 3 too low 22

WP-WebAuthn 2K+ · 4.5★ (17) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓2 1 too low 23

WebAuthn Provider for Two Factor 2K+ · 4.6★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #21 2 too high 24

Admin login URL Change 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓1 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.