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

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 required”, 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

Private Website – Login Required shows at wp.org #5 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Custom Login Page Customizer places #5 on merit, 4.9★ from 476 reviews, but shows at wp.org #9. 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

Temporary Login Without Password 90K+ · 5.0★ (1549) wp.org #3 ↑2 1 too low 3

Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4

All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #2 2 too high 5

Custom Login Page Customizer 50K+ · 4.9★ (476) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too low 6

Theme My Login 50K+ · 3.7★ (460) wp.org #6 ↓2 1 too high 8

Clean Login 5K+ · 4.7★ (144) wp.org #8 ↑13 9

LoginPress | wp-login Custom Login Page Customizer 200K+ · 4.8★ (1077) not PHP-current wp.org #13 ↓3 3 too low 11

WPO365 | SEAMLESS WORDPRESS + MICROSOFT INTEGRATION (WPO365 | LOGIN) 10K+ · 4.9★ (154) wp.org #14 ↓3 3 too low 12

Nextend Social Login and Register 200K+ · 4.9★ (446) wp.org #24 ↓1 11 too low 14

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #19 5 too low 15

FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #12 ↑2 3 too high 16

Custom Login 10K+ · 3.6★ (97) wp.org #16 ↓3 17

Melapress Login Security 3K+ · 4.8★ (20) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓3 3 too high 19

Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #23 4 too low 20

Teydea Login Customizer – Custom Login Page, Branding & Styling 10K+ · 4.8★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓2 21

WP Login Form 7K+ · 4.6★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22

Simple Login Captcha 10K+ · 3.9★ (17) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓2 23

Private Website – Login Required 300+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #5 ↑1 18 too high 24

Speedx – Disable Login Verification Required Emails for Wordfence 200+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓1 6 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.