wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “user 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 “user authentication”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

HivePress Authentication shows at wp.org #11 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 1K+ 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

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 8869 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. 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★ (5040) wp.org #1 2

WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184) wp.org #2 ↑1 3

User Switching 200K+ · 4.9★ (238) wp.org #3 ↓1 4

User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832) wp.org #4 5

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #5 6

Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #6 ↓1 7

Two Factor Authentication 20K+ · 4.4★ (77) wp.org #7 ↓1 8

miniOrange 2FA – Two Factor Authentication for WordPress (Passkey, OTP, SMS, Email, Google Authenticator) 10K+ · 4.5★ (385) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too low 9

New User Approve 20K+ · 4.3★ (131) wp.org #9 ↓1 10

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #20 ↑3 9 too low 12

JWT Authentication for WP REST APIs 10K+ · 4.4★ (74) wp.org #10 ↓3 2 too high 13

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #21 ↓1 8 too low 14

ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 5K+ · 4.6★ (236) wp.org #19 ↑5 5 too low 15

ProfilePress – Paid Membership, Online Courses (LMS), Ecommerce, User Registration & Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content 100K+ · 3.1★ (938) wp.org #16 ↓3 1 too low 16

JWT Authentication for WP REST API 60K+ · 4.4★ (53) wp.org #14 2 too high 17

FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #15 2 too high 18

Captcha Code 100K+ · 3.9★ (35) wp.org #18 ↓1 19

Firebase Authentication 400+ · 4.0★ (20) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too high 20

WP Basic Authentication 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #12 ↓1 8 too high 21

JSON API User 1K+ · 3.9★ (21) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓4 2 too low 22

Two Factor (2FA) Authentication via Email 9K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓3 2 too low 23

Easy Basic Authentication – Add basic auth to site or admin area 800+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓4 1 too high 24

HivePress Authentication 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓1 13 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.