wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “force logout”

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 logout”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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

Teydea Password Reset – Force Password Reset & Expiration shows at wp.org #13 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall places #9 on merit, 4.5★ from 373 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Inactive Logout 10K+ · 4.8★ (106) wp.org #1 ↑1 2

WPForce Logout – WordPress User Login Logout Management Plugin 8K+ · 4.8★ (66) wp.org #2 ↓1 3

Loggedin – Session Manager, Limit Concurrent Logins & Force Logout 8K+ · 4.9★ (112) wp.org #3 4

Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint wp.org #6 1 too low 6

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #8 2 too low 7

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #9 2 too low 8

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #10 2 too low 9

Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #16 7 too low 10

Simple Membership 40K+ · 4.6★ (475) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #11 ↑8 1 too low 11

Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too low 12

Entryway – WP Login & Logout Redirect 6K+ · 4.8★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #4 ↑1 8 too high 13

Idle User Logout 1K+ · 4.1★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #7 6 too high 14

Theme My Login 50K+ · 3.7★ (460) wp.org #20 6 too low 15

Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74) wp.org #17 2 too low 16

FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #15 ↑5 1 too high 17

My Private Site – Make Your Whole Site Private, Force Login & Block Registration Spam 10K+ · 4.5★ (82) not PHP-current wp.org #21 ↓5 4 too low 18

All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #18 ↓3 19

Disable User Login 6K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↓3 6 too high 21

Intranet & Private Site – All-In-One Intranet 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #23 2 too low 22

Teydea Password Reset – Force Password Reset & Expiration 500+ · 4.3★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓1 9 too high 23

SureMembers – Membership & Content Restriction Plugin 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #22 1 too high 24

Countdown to force logout 20+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↑3 5 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.