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

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 “single login”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 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

FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login shows at wp.org #10 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.1★ average from 35 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin signals wp.org

WPS Hide Login 2M+ · 4.8★ (2111) wp.org #1 ↑1 2

SAML Single Sign On – SSO Login 10K+ · 4.9★ (402) wp.org #3 1 too low 3

Temporary Login Without Password 90K+ · 5.0★ (1549) wp.org #4 ↑3 1 too low 4

Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #5 ↑1 6

OAuth Single Sign On – SSO (OAuth Client) 6K+ · 4.9★ (327) wp.org #6 ↓2 7

Custom Login Page Customizer 50K+ · 4.9★ (476) wp.org #9 2 too low 8

Theme My Login 50K+ · 3.7★ (460) wp.org #7 ↓2 2 too high 10

WPO365 | SEAMLESS WORDPRESS + MICROSOFT INTEGRATION (WPO365 | LOGIN) 10K+ · 4.9★ (154) wp.org #12 2 too low 11

Nextend Social Login and Register 200K+ · 4.9★ (446) wp.org #14 3 too low 12

Clean Login 5K+ · 4.7★ (144) wp.org #11 ↑13 1 too high 13

Admin Custom Login 10K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #15 2 too low 14

Custom Login Page Customizer 80K+ · 4.8★ (410) not PHP-current wp.org #13 ↓3 1 too high 15

Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #19 ↓2 4 too low 16

FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #10 ↑3 6 too high 17

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #21 4 too low 18

Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↑2 2 too high 19

Social Login, Social Sharing by miniOrange 10K+ · 4.6★ (356) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #24 ↓4 4 too low 21

Melapress Login Security 3K+ · 4.8★ (20) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22

Magic Login – Magic Link & Passwordless Authentication for WordPress – Login Without Password 3K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too high 23

Multiple Domain Mapping on Single Site 6K+ · 4.6★ (48) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #18 5 too high 24

Teydea Login Customizer – Custom Login Page, Branding & Styling 10K+ · 4.8★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓11 2 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.