wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “login activity”

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

FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login shows at wp.org #10 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.1★ average from 35 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 334 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. 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★ (5040) wp.org #1 2

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

Temporary Login Without Password 90K+ · 5.0★ (1550) wp.org #7 4 too low 4

WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (490) wp.org #5 ↓2 1 too low 5

Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6

Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74) wp.org #3 ↑1 3 too high 7

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #8 1 too low 8

All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #4 ↑2 4 too high 9

Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #17 ↓4 8 too low 10

User Login History 10K+ · 4.6★ (29) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too high 12

Booking Activities 3K+ · 5.0★ (121) wp.org #16 ↑3 4 too low 13

Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #12 1 too high 14

WPO365 | SEAMLESS WORDPRESS + MICROSOFT INTEGRATION (WPO365 | LOGIN) 10K+ · 4.9★ (154) wp.org #19 ↓4 5 too low 15

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #22 7 too low 16

Nextend Social Login and Register 200K+ · 4.9★ (447) wp.org #24 ↓3 8 too low 17

When Last Login 40K+ · 4.7★ (37) wp.org #13 ↓4 4 too high 18

FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #10 ↑4 8 too high 19

Melapress Login Security 3K+ · 4.8★ (20) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓4 4 too high 20

Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓2 21

Activity Log Pro – User Activity Log, Audit Log & Security Monitor 400+ · 5.0★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓6 3 too high 22

Entryway – WP Login & Logout Redirect 6K+ · 4.8★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↓4 8 too high 23

Activity Logs, User Activity Tracking, Multisite Activity Log from Logtivity 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓5 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.