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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “passkey”

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 “passkey”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Advanced Passkeys for Secure Login shows at wp.org #8 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 40+ 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

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 1039 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) wp.org #1 2 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #5 ↓1 3 too low 3 WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #2 ↑1 2 too high 5 WP Encryption: Easy HTTPS / SSL & Free SSL certificate, HTTPS redirect 50K+ · 4.9★ (1146) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 Secure Passkeys 2K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #3 ↓1 3 too high 7 miniOrange 2FA – Two Factor Authentication for WordPress (OTP, SMS, Email, Google Authenticator) 10K+ · 4.5★ (385) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning 30K+ · 4.8★ (1039) wp.org #17 ↓1 9 too low 9 Login With Ajax – Fast Logins, 2FA, Redirects 10K+ · 4.6★ (167) wp.org #15 ↓1 6 too low 10 Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ · 4.5★ (373) wp.org #19 9 too low 11 Theme Switcha – Easily Switch Themes for Development and Testing 7K+ · 4.4★ (63) wp.org #11 12 WebAuthn Provider for Two Factor 2K+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #12 13 WP-WebAuthn 2K+ · 4.5★ (17) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too low 14 User Registration & Login – Magic Links & Email OTP Verification, Passkeys & 2FA, Cloudflare Turnstile, Google reCAPTCHA & Honeypot – HMDIA 50+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 Intranet & Private Site – All-In-One Intranet 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #22 ↓4 7 too low 16 Rapls Passkey – Passwordless Login with WebAuthn 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 ↑1 10 too high 17 Social Login, Passkeys, Magic Link & Email OTP – Passwordless Login by VentraConnect 90+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 7 too high 18 M-Pesa(Kenya) Checkout for Woocommerce 900+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #23 ↓3 5 too low 19 Advanced Passkeys for Secure Login 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 11 too high 20 Customize My Account for WooCommerce – Custom Tabs, Login, Registration, 2FA & Design 900+ · 3.4★ (5) wp.org #18 ↓3 2 too high 21 BetterShield – Security Audit, 2FA, Passkeys & Login Protection 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 5 too high 22 WPCOM Member 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 Duo Universal 2K+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓4 2 too high 24 JDITC Add Wordfence 2FA to Ultimate Member 20+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.