wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “remote authentication”

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 “remote authentication”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 2 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

Remote Website Management by Watchful shows at wp.org #9 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

JetBackup – Backup, Restore & Migrate places #11 on merit, 4.5★ from 1056 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. 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

WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging 900K+ · 4.9★ (1568) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3

WP Remote Users Sync 6K+ · 4.9★ (73) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #2 ↑6 1 too high 4

miniOrange 2FA – Two Factor Authentication for WordPress (OTP, SMS, Email, Google Authenticator) 10K+ · 4.5★ (385) wp.org #5 ↓2 1 too low 5

WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too low 6

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7

The WP Remote WordPress Plugin 30K+ · 4.6★ (74) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8

WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #11 3 too low 9

FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #4 5 too high 10

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too low 11

JetBackup – Backup, Restore & Migrate 200K+ · 4.5★ (1056) wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too low 12

Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #14 2 too low 13

CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3236) wp.org #21 8 too low 14

Rublon Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) 400+ · 4.2★ (88) wp.org #12 2 too high 15

Titan Anti-spam & Security – Brute Force Protection, 2FA & Spam Filter 50K+ · 4.5★ (370) not PHP-current wp.org #19 4 too low 16

Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #10 6 too high 17

Security Ninja – WordPress Security & Firewall 7K+ · 4.7★ (101) wp.org #24 7 too low 18

GSheetConnector – CF7 Google Sheets Connector & Save CF7 Entries to Database 40K+ · 4.4★ (129) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #16 2 too high 19

Remote Website Management by Watchful 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #9 10 too high 20

Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ · 4.2★ (386) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #20 21

Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22

All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #17 5 too high 23

UpdraftCentral Dashboard 5K+ · 4.5★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #18 5 too high 24

Kadence Central – Site Management, Backups, Security, and Reporting 30K+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #23 1 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.