wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “latest login records”
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 “latest login records”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Entryway – WP Login & Logout Redirect shows at wp.org #6 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 6K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
How this rank is calculated
Each plugin's merit score multiplies these inputs together: how recently it was updated, how current its "tested up to" WordPress version is, its install base (log scale, capped at 10 million), its support thread resolution rate, and a rating score. The rating score weights the star average by review volume against a sitewide prior, then scales it by the lower bound of the share of 4 and 5 star reviews. A plugin with 3.7 stars from tens of thousands of reviews can still outscore a 4.9 with a few dozen, because the small sample carries less certainty.
A health factor between 0.4 and 1.15 then adjusts that score for what wp.org's search can't see: PHP fatals or failed activations on a test install, PHP and WordPress compatibility, memory and page-speed footprint, suspicious review patterns, closure risk, and a large install base with very few reviews. Clean, adopted plugins earn a small lift.
A keyword ranking starts from wp.org's search order for the term, weighting each position by 1 divided by its place, then applies the merit correction and health factor above. Relevance to the keyword stays in the result, so the order can differ from the all-categories list on /best, which scores plugins with no search term.
Hover a row to see the main reason for its position.
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5,043)
wp.org #1 2 
All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1,720)
wp.org #2 ↑1 3 
WPO365 | SEAMLESS WORDPRESS + MICROSOFT INTEGRATION (WPO365 | LOGIN) 10K+ · 4.9★ (154)
wp.org #3 4 
Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (398)
wp.org #5 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 5 
SAML Single Sign On – SSO Login 10K+ · 4.9★ (402)
wp.org #8 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 3 places below merit 6 
WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection 10K+ · 4.6★ (213)
wp.org #7 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 7 
Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3,992)
wp.org #10 ↑4 wp.org ranks it 3 places below merit 8 
RegistrationMagic – Custom Registration Forms, User Registration, Payment, and User Login 7K+ · 4.5★ (459)
wp.org #9 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 9 
FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35)
wp.org #4 ↓2 wp.org ranks it 5 places above merit 10 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #11 ↑2 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 11 
Active Directory Integration / LDAP Integration 4K+ · 4.9★ (211)
wp.org #12 ↓2 wp.org ranks it 1 place below merit 12 
Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (590)
wp.org #14 ↓5 wp.org ranks it 2 places below merit 13 
Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (492)
wp.org #17 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 4 places below merit 14 
Simple Membership 40K+ · 4.6★ (476)
wp.org #19 ↑3 wp.org ranks it 5 places below merit 15 
hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88)
wp.org #13 ↓2 wp.org ranks it 2 places above merit 16 
Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373)
wp.org #20 wp.org ranks it 4 places below merit 17 Entryway – WP Login & Logout Redirect 6K+ · 4.8★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #6 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 11 places above merit 18 
My Private Site – Make Your Whole Site Private, Force Login & Block Registration Spam 10K+ · 4.5★ (82)
wp.org #21 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 3 places below merit 19 
Password Protected 300K+ · 4.4★ (142)
wp.org #24 ↓6 wp.org ranks it 5 places below merit 20 
CF7 Apps – Addons for Contact Form 7 (Honeypot, Database, Redirection, Webhook, etc.) 300K+ · 3.8★ (135)
wp.org #23 ↓2 wp.org ranks it 3 places below merit 21 
Web-Art Login Shield with reCAPTCHA 100+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 3 places above merit 22 
Legal Terms and Conditions Popup for User Login and WooCommerce Checkout 500+ · 5.0★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓3 23 
CBX User Online & Last Login 800+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓1 wp.org ranks it 7 places above merit 24 
Membee Login 400+ · 3.4★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↓3 wp.org ranks it 9 places above merit Merit ranking caps the install boost at 10M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted 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.