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

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 lock”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 3 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

CloudSecure WP Security shows at wp.org #6 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 100K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 1039 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

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

Temporary Login Without Password 90K+ · 5.0★ (1549) wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too low 4

All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #3 1 too high 5

Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #11 ↑2 6 too low 6

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #18 12 too low 7

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #15 ↑1 8 too low 8

Admin Custom Login 10K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #16 ↓4 8 too low 9

User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738) wp.org #21 12 too low 10

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning 30K+ · 4.8★ (1039) wp.org #24 ↓2 14 too low 11

Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #10 1 too high 12

FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #8 ↑6 4 too high 13

Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #13 ↑6 14

WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection 10K+ · 4.6★ (213) wp.org #20 6 too low 15

Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current wp.org #23 7 too low 17

Login IP & Country Restriction 8K+ · 4.6★ (52) wp.org #14 ↑1 3 too high 18 L Login rebuilder 20K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #7 ↑1 11 too high 19

Melapress Login Security 3K+ · 4.8★ (20) thin reviews wp.org #12 ↓1 7 too high 20

SiteGuard WP Plugin 600K+ · 4.3★ (15) throws errorsnot PHP-currenthost-installed base thin reviews wp.org #4 16 too high 21

WPEPP – Essential Security, Password Protect & Login Page Customizer 3K+ · 4.1★ (19) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too low 22

CloudSecure WP Security 100K+ · 5.0★ (2) host-installed base thin reviews wp.org #6 ↓1 17 too high 24

Protect Login 700+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓1 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.