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

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 notification”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Notification Master – Real-Time WordPress Notifications With Email, SMS, Webhooks & More shows at wp.org #8 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 397 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. 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★ (1489) wp.org #2 3

WPS Hide Login 2M+ · 4.8★ (2111) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Temporary Login Without Password 90K+ · 5.0★ (1549) wp.org #7 ↑7 2 too low 6

Simple Login Notification 2K+ · 5.0★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #3 3 too high 7

Notification – Custom Notifications and Alerts for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (124) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too low 8

WPS Limit Login 100K+ · 4.9★ (83) wp.org #10 2 too low 9

Notification for Telegram 4K+ · 4.9★ (71) wp.org #11 2 too low 10

All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #6 4 too high 11

Theme My Login 50K+ · 3.7★ (460) wp.org #13 ↓6 2 too low 12

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #23 ↓1 11 too low 13

LoginPress | wp-login Custom Login Page Customizer 200K+ · 4.8★ (1077) not PHP-current wp.org #22 ↓4 9 too low 14

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #24 ↓5 10 too low 15

Clean Login 5K+ · 4.7★ (144) wp.org #19 4 too low 16

Custom Login Page Customizer 80K+ · 4.8★ (410) not PHP-current wp.org #21 ↓5 5 too low 17

When Last Login 40K+ · 4.7★ (37) wp.org #15 2 too high 18

Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too high 19

FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #17 3 too high 21

Notification Master – Real-Time WordPress Notifications With Email, SMS, Webhooks & More 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #8 ↑1 13 too high 22 L Login rebuilder 20K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #16 6 too high 23

Email Notification on Login 1K+ · 3.8★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓3 3 too high 24

Kaya Login Notification 100+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #12 12 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.