wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wordpress 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 “wordpress login”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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 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

My WordPress Login Logo shows at wp.org #7 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.9★ average from 12 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Temporary Login Without Password places #10 on merit, 5.0★ from 1549 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #1 ↑2 2

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint wp.org #2 ↓1 3

Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1488) wp.org #3 ↓1 4

WPS Hide Login 2M+ · 4.8★ (2111) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #8 ↓2 3 too low 6

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too low 8

WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184) wp.org #9 ↑11 1 too low 9

LoginWP (Formerly Peter's Login Redirect) 80K+ · 4.8★ (503) wp.org #13 ↑4 4 too low 10

Temporary Login Without Password 90K+ · 5.0★ (1549) wp.org #17 ↑4 7 too low 11

LoginPress | wp-login Custom Login Page Customizer 200K+ · 4.8★ (1077) not PHP-current wp.org #12 ↓3 1 too low 12

Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #14 2 too low 13

Admin Custom Login 10K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #16 ↓3 3 too low 14

WPO365 | SEAMLESS WORDPRESS + MICROSOFT INTEGRATION (WPO365 | LOGIN) 10K+ · 4.9★ (154) wp.org #15 1 too low 15

All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #6 ↑4 9 too high 16

Custom Login Page Customizer 50K+ · 4.9★ (476) wp.org #20 ↓5 4 too low 17

My WordPress Login Logo 10K+ · 4.9★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #7 10 too high 18

Magic Login – Magic Link & Passwordless Authentication for WordPress – Login Without Password 3K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #10 ↓2 9 too high 20

Force Login 30K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #18 2 too high 21

Theme My Login 50K+ · 3.7★ (460) wp.org #19 ↓8 2 too high 22

WPS Limit Login 100K+ · 4.9★ (83) wp.org #21 ↓2 2 too high 24

FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35) 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.