wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “block 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 “block login”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Block wp-login shows at wp.org #8 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 9 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 8869 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. 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

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

WPS Hide Login 2M+ · 4.8★ (2111) wp.org #4 5

Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) heavy footprint wp.org #5 6

Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too low 7

LoginWP (Formerly Peter's Login Redirect) 80K+ · 4.8★ (503) wp.org #10 ↓2 3 too low 8

IP Location Block 10K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #7 ↑15 1 too high 9

WPS Limit Login 100K+ · 4.9★ (83) wp.org #11 ↓2 2 too low 10

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #20 10 too low 11

Theme My Login 50K+ · 3.7★ (460) wp.org #12 ↓5 1 too low 12

All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #6 6 too high 13

Clean Login 5K+ · 4.7★ (144) wp.org #14 15

Custom Login Page Customizer 50K+ · 4.9★ (476) wp.org #23 ↓7 8 too low 16

Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too high 18

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #21 3 too low 19

Easy Hide Login 20K+ · 4.4★ (43) wp.org #16 ↑8 4 too high 21

Block wp-login 600+ · 4.7★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #8 ↑6 13 too high 22

Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder 9K+ · 4.8★ (90) heavy footprint wp.org #24 2 too low 23

FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #18 6 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.