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

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 “passwordless”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

QRAuth – Passwordless & Social Login shows at wp.org #12 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 40+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Temporary Login Without Password places #7 on merit, 5.0★ from 1549 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184) wp.org #2 ↑3 1 too low 2 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Passwordless Login 1K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #10 ↓2 5 too low 6 Login & Register Customizer – Forms, Popup, Profile & WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.8★ (254) wp.org #9 ↓2 3 too low 7 Temporary Login Without Password 90K+ · 5.0★ (1549) wp.org #14 ↑6 7 too low 8 Password Protected 300K+ · 4.4★ (142) wp.org #7 ↑4 1 too high 9 Magic Login – Magic Link & Passwordless Authentication for WordPress – Login Without Password 3K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #5 ↓3 4 too high 10 miniOrange 2FA – Two Factor Authentication for WordPress (OTP, SMS, Email, Google Authenticator) 10K+ · 4.5★ (385) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738) wp.org #18 ↑4 7 too low 12 All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #6 ↑4 6 too high 13 miniOrange OTP Login, Verification and SMS Notifications 5K+ · 4.7★ (439) wp.org #23 ↑1 10 too low 14 DoLogin Security 7K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #8 ↓2 6 too high 15 Trusona for WordPress 400+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16 Login Me Now – Passwordless, Magic Link, OTP & Social Login for WordPress 600+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #11 ↓2 5 too high 17 Secure Passkeys 2K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #20 ↓6 3 too low 18 Yandex Metrica 20K+ · 3.8★ (33) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 Simply Disable Comments 8K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 ↑2 4 too high 20 پینوا | Pinova 1K+ · 4.4★ (14) wp.org #22 2 too low 21 Social Login, Passkeys, Magic Link & Email OTP – Passwordless Login by VentraConnect 90+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 QRAuth – Passwordless & Social Login 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 10 too high 23 Rapls Passkey – Passwordless Login with WebAuthn 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 SEO Metrics 500+ · 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.