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

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 plugin”, 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

All In One Login shows at wp.org #8 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 10 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

Admin Custom Login places #12 on merit, 4.6★ from 388 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. 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

Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #3 4

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5

WPS Hide Login 2M+ · 4.8★ (2111) wp.org #6 1 too low 6

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #7 ↑3 1 too low 7

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #9 ↓2 1 too low 9

Temporary Login Without Password 90K+ · 5.0★ (1549) wp.org #12 3 too low 10

LoginWP (Formerly Peter's Login Redirect) 80K+ · 4.8★ (503) wp.org #13 3 too low 11

Force Login 30K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #11 ↑10 12

Admin Custom Login 10K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #16 4 too low 13

Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157) wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too high 14

WPS Limit Login 100K+ · 4.9★ (83) wp.org #14 15

Nextend Social Login and Register 200K+ · 4.9★ (446) wp.org #20 ↓1 5 too low 16

Custom Login Page Customizer 50K+ · 4.9★ (476) wp.org #24 8 too low 17

All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #8 10 too high 19

Theme My Login 50K+ · 3.7★ (460) wp.org #17 ↓6 2 too high 20

Easy Hide Login 20K+ · 4.4★ (43) wp.org #21 ↓1 22

WP Last Login 10K+ · 3.8★ (26) wp.org #15 7 too high 23

LWS Hide Login 20K+ · 4.7★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #22 1 too high 24 L Login rebuilder 20K+ · 5.0★ (7) 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.