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

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 registration”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

All In One Login shows at wp.org #9 but places #19 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

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 3220 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★ (5038) heavy footprint wp.org #1 2

Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #2 3

Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1488) wp.org #3 4

User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832) wp.org #4 5

WPS Hide Login 2M+ · 4.8★ (2111) wp.org #5 6

LoginWP (Formerly Peter's Login Redirect) 80K+ · 4.8★ (503) wp.org #6 7

User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738) wp.org #10 3 too low 8

Theme My Login 50K+ · 3.7★ (460) wp.org #7 1 too high 9

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #16 7 too low 10

AJAX Login and Registration modal popup + inline form 3K+ · 4.7★ (120) wp.org #11 1 too low 11

RegistrationMagic – Custom Registration Forms, User Registration, Payment, and User Login 7K+ · 4.5★ (459) wp.org #14 3 too low 12

Clean Login 5K+ · 4.7★ (144) wp.org #12 1 too high 14

Event Tickets and Registration 90K+ · 3.5★ (236) heavy footprint wp.org #8 ↑1 6 too high 15

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #20 ↑2 5 too low 16

Custom Login Page Customizer 50K+ · 4.9★ (476) wp.org #21 ↓1 4 too low 18

Force Login 30K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #19 1 too low 19

All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #9 ↓1 10 too high 20

UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP 20K+ · 4.7★ (183) wp.org #23 3 too low 21

Paid Membership Plugin, Ecommerce, User Registration Form, Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content – ProfilePress 100K+ · 3.1★ (938) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #22 ↓3 1 too high 24

FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #24

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.