10 Best Google Authenticator Alternatives in 2026
Updated September 7, 2026 · Ranked by how closely each plugin matches, from WordPress.org data · How this works
Google Authenticator sits at #4 in the WordPress.org Authentication Plugins ranking. These 10 plugins share its category or its tags on WordPress.org, are actively maintained, and each has at least 100 active installs. They are ordered by how closely they match, not by our opinion.
The 10 closest alternatives to Google Authenticator
- 1
Duo Two-Factor Authentication
Closest match3.7 (39) 3,000+ active installsEasily add Duo Security two-factor authentication to your WordPress website. Enable two-factor authentication for your admins and/or users.
#5 in the WordPress.org Authentication Plugins ranking. 3,000+ installs against 20,000+, no update since June 6, 2025.
- 2
4.0 (1) 2,000+ active installsEasily add Duo authentication to your WordPress website. Enable multi-factor authentication for your admins and/or users.
#7 in the WordPress.org Authentication Plugins ranking. 2,000+ installs against 20,000+, last updated January 6, 2026.
- 3
miniOrange 2FA – Two Factor Authentication for WordPress (OTP, SMS, Email, Google Authenticator)
4.5 (384) 10,000+ active installsFree 2FA plugin for unlimited users with Passkey, Google Authenticator, Email/SMS OTP, Push Notification & passwordless login.
#2 in the WordPress.org Authentication Plugins ranking. About half the installs, rated 4.5 against 4.3, last updated 12 days ago.
- 4
4.8 (208) 100,000+ active installsEnable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) using time-based one-time passwords (TOTP), email, and backup verification codes.
#1 in the WordPress.org Authentication Plugins ranking. About 5 times the installs, rated 4.8 against 4.3, last updated March 27, 2026.
- 5
4.6 (202) 300,000+ active installsLimit rate of login attempts, including by way of cookies, for each IP. Fully customizable.
#8 in the WordPress.org Authentication Plugins ranking. About 15 times the installs, rated 4.6 against 4.3, no update since April 4, 2023.
- 6
Kadence Security
Paid version availableKadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection
4.6 (3,990) 700,000+ active installsHarden your site security with Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), Vulnerability Scanner, Firewall, and more. Formerly iThemes Security.
#9 in the WordPress.org Authentication Plugins ranking. About 35 times the installs, rated 4.6 against 4.3, last updated July 27, 2026.
- 7
Two Factor (2FA) Authentication via Email
5.0 (4) 9,000+ active installsEnable one-click login with this WordPress Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) plugin, utilizing email for added security.
#3 in the WordPress.org Authentication Plugins ranking. About half the installs, last updated June 21, 2026.
- 8
4.2 (27) 1,000+ active installsAdds an extra layer of security to your Wordpress Account. Same as Google 2-step verification.
#6 in the WordPress.org Authentication Plugins ranking. 1,000+ installs against 20,000+, last updated October 10, 2025.
- 9
0.0 (0) 200+ active installsUse WordPress authentication and permissions in external React applications via secure REST API endpoints.
#10 in the WordPress.org Authentication Plugins ranking. 200+ installs against 20,000+, last updated June 3, 2026.
- 10
4.9 (83) 100,000+ active installsWPS Limit login limit connection attempts by IP address
Shares the authentication, login, security tags on WordPress.org. About 5 times the installs, rated 4.9 against 4.3, last updated 24 days ago.
Google Authenticator against each of them
Head to head on installs, ratings, reviews and updates. Each measure names its own leader; there is no overall winner.
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Google Authenticator vs Duo Two-Factor Authentication20,000+ vs 3,000+ installs · 4.3 vs 3.7
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Google Authenticator vs Duo Universal20,000+ vs 2,000+ installs · 4.3 vs 4.0
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Google Authenticator vs miniOrange 2FA20,000+ vs 10,000+ installs · 4.3 vs 4.5
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Google Authenticator vs Two Factor20,000+ vs 100,000+ installs · 4.3 vs 4.8
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Google Authenticator vs Limit Login Attempts20,000+ vs 300,000+ installs · 4.3 vs 4.6
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Google Authenticator vs Kadence Security20,000+ vs 700,000+ installs · 4.3 vs 4.6
Switching from Google Authenticator: common questions
What is the best alternative to Google Authenticator?
Duo Two-Factor Authentication is the closest match: it shares the Authentication Plugins top 10 with Google Authenticator and has 3,000+ active installs with a 3.7 out of 5 rating.
Which Google Authenticator alternative has the most users?
Kadence Security, with 700,000+ active installs reported by WordPress.org.
Which Google Authenticator alternative is rated highest?
WPS Limit Login, rated 4.9 out of 5 by 83 reviewers. Only plugins with at least 50 reviews are counted.
Are these Google Authenticator alternatives free?
Every plugin listed here is free to install from WordPress.org. Where WordPress.org marks a plugin as commercial, the developer also sells a paid version or add-ons, and that is shown on each plugin.
How are alternatives chosen?
Automatically, from WordPress.org data: plugins that share a category top 10 with Google Authenticator score highest, then plugins that appear in the same WordPress.org rankings, then plugins with the same tags, weighted so rare tags count more than common ones. Plugins by the same author and plugins rated under 4.0 are left out.
How we choose these alternatives
Nothing on this page is picked by hand. Every day we walk the whole WordPress.org directory, then score every plugin against Google Authenticator on three signals: sharing a category top 10 counts most, then appearing in the same WordPress.org rankings, then carrying the same tags, with rare tags counting for more than common ones like "wordpress". Plugins by the same author are excluded, so an author's own add-ons cannot fill the list, and so is anything rated below 4.0 or with fewer than 100 active installs. The ten highest scores are what you see, in that order. Full methodology.
The bottom line
Duo Two-Factor Authentication is the closest match to Google Authenticator by the data we track, and Kadence Security has the widest reach with 700,000+ active installs. miniOrange 2FA shipped the most recent release, on August 26, 2026. The list is rebuilt every day from WordPress.org, so a plugin that stops being maintained drops out on its own.
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What moved this week
One email a week, built from the same daily snapshots these rankings come from: the plugins that climbed, what launched, and one ranking worth a look.