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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “saml 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 “saml authentication”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Cloud SAML SSO – Single Sign On Login shows at wp.org #8 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 80+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPO365 | SEAMLESS WORDPRESS + MICROSOFT INTEGRATION (WPO365 | LOGIN) places #3 on merit, 4.9★ from 154 reviews, but shows at wp.org #7. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 SAML Single Sign On – SSO Login 10K+ · 4.9★ (402) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 WP SAML Auth 7K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 WPO365 | SEAMLESS WORDPRESS + MICROSOFT INTEGRATION (WPO365 | LOGIN) 10K+ · 4.9★ (154) wp.org #7 ↑1 4 too low 4 SAML IDP (Identity Provider) – Login with Website Users 600+ · 4.8★ (62) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 Login for Google Apps by WPAuth 10K+ · 4.6★ (64) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 OAuth Single Sign On – SSO (OAuth Client) 6K+ · 4.9★ (327) wp.org #10 ↑1 4 too low 7 O OneLogin SAML SSO 7K+ · 4.4★ (14) wp.org #3 ↑2 4 too high 8 Prevent Files / Folders Access 1K+ · 4.6★ (35) wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too low 9 Shibboleth 3K+ · 4.3★ (7) wp.org #5 ↑1 4 too high 10 Active Directory/LDAP Integration for Cloud & Shared Hosting Platforms 40+ · 4.9★ (39) wp.org #17 ↓1 7 too low 11 Page and Post Restriction 1K+ · 4.3★ (16) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 Office 365 User Authentication for WordPress 20+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too low 13 Staff/Employee Business Directory for Active Directory 10+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 SCIM User Sync/Provisioning 200+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #11 ↑3 3 too high 15 CoCart – Headless REST API for WooCommerce 900+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #20 5 too low 16 Cloud SAML SSO – Single Sign On Login 80+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #8 ↑1 8 too high 17 All-in-One Microsoft 365 & Entra ID / Azure AD SSO Login 600+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #13 ↑2 4 too high 18 Open Access SSO 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too high 19 Signclave – SSO for SAML and LDAP — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 4 too high 20 SSO JumpCloud – Enterprise SAML & SCIM — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 Headless SSO Plugin for WP 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 SAML IDP – Login with WordPress Users via SAML SSO — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 by Descope 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 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.