wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “login 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 “login authentication”, 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 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 #7 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 8 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.

Buried gem

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 8869 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. 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★ (5039) heavy footprint wp.org #1 2

Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1488) wp.org #2 3

WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #10 ↑3 4 too low 7

WPS Limit Login 100K+ · 4.9★ (83) wp.org #9 2 too low 8

Two Factor Authentication 20K+ · 4.4★ (77) wp.org #8 9

FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #5 ↑1 4 too high 10

Force Login 30K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #12 ↑11 1 too low 12

Theme My Login 50K+ · 3.7★ (460) wp.org #13 ↓3 1 too low 13

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too low 14

All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #7 8 too high 16

miniOrange 2FA – Two Factor Authentication for WordPress (OTP, SMS, Email, Google Authenticator) 10K+ · 4.5★ (385) wp.org #20 ↓1 4 too low 17

WPO365 | SEAMLESS WORDPRESS + MICROSOFT INTEGRATION (WPO365 | LOGIN) 10K+ · 4.9★ (154) wp.org #22 ↓2 5 too low 18

JWT Authentication for WP REST APIs 10K+ · 4.4★ (74) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too high 19

Magic Login – Magic Link & Passwordless Authentication for WordPress – Login Without Password 3K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #11 8 too high 20

When Last Login 40K+ · 4.7★ (37) wp.org #17 ↓2 3 too high 21

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #24 3 too low 22

Login No Captcha reCAPTCHA 50K+ · 4.5★ (63) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 L Login rebuilder 20K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too high 24

WP Basic Authentication 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews 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.