wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “force 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 “force login”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 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

All In One Login shows at wp.org #10 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 60K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.6★ average from 35 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint wp.org #1 ↑1 2

Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1489) wp.org #2 ↓1 3

WPS Hide Login 2M+ · 4.8★ (2111) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

Force Login 30K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #3 1 too high 5

Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning 30K+ · 4.8★ (1039) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7

WP Force SSL & HTTPS SSL Redirect 80K+ · 4.7★ (179) wp.org #6 1 too high 8

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #9 ↓2 1 too low 9

Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #11 1 too low 11

Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #12 ↓2 1 too low 12

Advanced Google reCAPTCHA 200K+ · 4.8★ (430) wp.org #13 ↑7 1 too low 13

Temporary Login Without Password 90K+ · 5.0★ (1549) wp.org #19 ↑4 6 too low 14

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #15 ↑1 1 too low 15

Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) heavy footprint wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too high 16

WPS Limit Login 100K+ · 4.9★ (83) wp.org #16 ↓4 17

Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #24 7 too low 18

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #17 1 too high 19

Theme My Login 50K+ · 3.7★ (460) wp.org #20 ↓6 21

All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #10 ↑3 11 too high 22

My Private Site – Make Your Whole Site Private, Force Login & Block Registration Spam 10K+ · 4.5★ (82) not PHP-current wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too high 23

Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓4 1 too high 24

FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #21 3 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.