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PHP Native Password Hash — WordPress Password Protection Plugin

by Ayesh Karunaratne · WordPress.org page

v3.0 Tested up to WP 6.5.10 PHP 7.0+

PHP Native Password Hash has 1,000+ active installs on WordPress.org and 24,560 downloads all time. We have tracked it since September 4, 2026; download trends appear after 30 days of data. The last update was on June 10, 2024, tested up to WordPress 6.5.10.

PHP Native Password Hash at a glance

Active installs
1,000+
Total downloads
24,560
Downloads, last 30 days
–
available after 30 days of tracking
30-day growth
–
tracking since September 4, 2026

Is PHP Native Password Hash well maintained?

Support threads resolved
No open threads
nothing waiting on the WordPress.org forum
WordPress compatibility
Behind
tested up to WordPress 6.5.10, not yet with the current 7.1

Features

The feature list from the plugin's own readme on WordPress.org, trimmed to the essentials.

  • A password salt will be generated using a Cryptographically Secure Pseudo-Random Number Generator (CSPRNG)
  • Password hashes are safe from dictionary attacks with rainbow tables or any other precomputed hash lists, because a secure salt is generated for each password
  • The password hashing is iterated multiple times to provide a good resistance against brute-force attacks
  • Password checks are made in a way that it mitigates time-attacks
  • You do not have to reset passwords of all users. Passwords already hashed in the database will be rehashed automatically and transparently the next time the…
  • PHP might come up with newer password hashing algorithms, and they will be automatically supported without having to reset all the passwords

PHP Native Password Hash reviews and ratings

6 reviews on WordPress.org, with the most recent ones as their authors posted them.

All reviews
5.0 out of 5

6 reviews

5★
6
4★
0
3★
0
2★
0
1★
0

  • Amazing

    Works very well.

    fenvi

  • Very good security addition

    Thanks for this plugin and especially for keeping it up to date.

    Yambub

  • Thanks very much!

    Can't believe WP is still using MD5 by default o.O As soon as I learned about this, I got this plugin, and it does exactly what you want, using Wordpress built in functions, so totally lightweight. Thanks dev!

    minishman

  • Exellent

    Works as expected.

    mpompas

  • Superb

    Geniality is in simplicity.

    birkof007

  • Thanks

    It's Working fine. Thanks...

    Thilina Dharmasena

Where PHP Native Password Hash ranks on WordPress.org

The rankings we track that PHP Native Password Hash appears in, and how its position changed over 30 days.

Ranking WordPress.org placement Position 30 days
Best Password Protection Plugins #16 by tag, not in search #29 –

PHP Native Password Hash alternatives

Plugins that solve the same problem, ranked by how closely they overlap with PHP Native Password Hash.

All PHP Native Password Hash alternatives

Details

Makes WordPress use PHP's native password_hash() functions for portable, stronger, and time-attack safe bcrypt and Argon2 hashes.

The full description, screenshots and every review live on the WordPress.org page.

Rankings PHP Native Password Hash competes in

Tags

  • argon2
  • bcrypt
  • password
  • password hashing
  • password_hash

More from Ayesh Karunaratne

Version
3.0
Last updated
Jun 10, 2024
First published
Jan 4, 2017
Requires WordPress
5.2
Tested up to
6.5.10
Requires PHP
7.0
Pricing
Free on WordPress.org

PHP Native Password Hash FAQ

What does PHP Native Password Hash do?

According to its WordPress.org readme, PHP Native Password Hash offers A password salt will be generated using a Cryptographically Secure Pseudo-Random Number Generator (CSPRNG), Password hashes are safe from dictionary attacks with rainbow tables or any other precomputed hash lists, because a secure salt is generated for each password, The password hashing is iterated multiple times to provide a good resistance against brute-force attacks, Password checks are made in a way that it mitigates time-attacks and You do not have to reset passwords of all users. Passwords already hashed in the database will be rehashed automatically and transparently the next time the.

How many active installs does PHP Native Password Hash have?

WordPress.org reports 1,000+ active installs for PHP Native Password Hash as of September 7, 2026.

Is PHP Native Password Hash still maintained?

The last release was on June 10, 2024, more than a year ago. WordPress.org shows a warning on plugins that go this long without an update.

Is PHP Native Password Hash free?

PHP Native Password Hash is free to install from WordPress.org. Many plugins also sell a paid version or add-ons.

Where does PHP Native Password Hash rank among Password Protection Plugins?

PHP Native Password Hash is #29 in the WordPress.org Password Protection Plugins ranking.