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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “email authentication”

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 “email authentication”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Two Factor (2FA) Authentication via Email shows at wp.org #5 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 9K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 1720 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★ (5039) wp.org #1 2 WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184) wp.org #2 ↑2 3 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too low 6 Check & Log Email – Easy Email Testing & Mail logging 90K+ · 4.8★ (292) wp.org #6 7 miniOrange 2FA – Two Factor Authentication for WordPress (OTP, SMS, Email, Google Authenticator) 10K+ · 4.5★ (385) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 Two Factor Authentication 20K+ · 4.4★ (77) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too high 9 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #15 ↑2 6 too low 10 Email Subscribers & Newsletters by Icegram Express – Email Marketing, Post Notifications & WooCommerce Marekting Automation for WordPress 50K+ · 4.6★ (1170) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 JWT Authentication for WP REST APIs 10K+ · 4.4★ (74) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #22 ↓1 10 too low 13 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #20 ↓1 7 too low 14 Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (709) wp.org #23 ↑1 9 too low 15 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 Contact Form Email 8K+ · 4.3★ (102) wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too low 17 Two Factor (2FA) Authentication via Email 9K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #5 12 too high 18 FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #13 5 too high 19 Firebase Authentication 400+ · 4.0★ (20) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 Email Tracker 800+ · 4.4★ (21) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too low 21 Supplier Order Email 300+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress 1M+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #11 11 too high 23 Email Auth – DKIM, SPF, DMARC, Bounce Address, From Address 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too high 24 Easy Basic Authentication – Add basic auth to site or admin area 800+ · 5.0★ (3) 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.