wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wordpress 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 “wordpress user authentication”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20. 3 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

WP Basic Authentication shows at wp.org #16 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin signals wp.org

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

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

Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281) wp.org #5 2 too low 4

User Switching 200K+ · 4.9★ (238) wp.org #4 5

MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #3 ↓2 2 too high 6

User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832) wp.org #6 ↓1 7

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #7 ↓1 8

Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #8 ↓1 9

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too low 10

BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current wp.org #9 1 too high 11

miniOrange 2FA – Two Factor Authentication for WordPress (OTP, SMS, Email, Google Authenticator) 10K+ · 4.5★ (385) wp.org #14 ↓2 3 too low 12

Two Factor Authentication 20K+ · 4.4★ (77) wp.org #10 ↓2 2 too high 13

Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #21 ↑1 8 too low 14

WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (199) wp.org #18 4 too low 15

JWT Authentication for WP REST APIs 10K+ · 4.4★ (74) wp.org #13 ↓2 3 too high 17

New User Approve 20K+ · 4.3★ (131) wp.org #15 ↓2 2 too high 18

All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #24 6 too low 19

JWT Authentication for WP REST API 60K+ · 4.4★ (53) not PHP-current wp.org #19 ↓2 20

FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #17 ↑2 3 too high 21

ProfilePress – Paid Membership, Online Courses (LMS), Ecommerce, User Registration & Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content 100K+ · 3.1★ (938) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #20 ↓4 1 too high 22

Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #22 23

Captcha Code 100K+ · 3.9★ (35) wp.org #23 ↓3 24

WP Basic Authentication 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓2 8 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.