External Database vs Passwords Evolved — WordPress

External Database Authentication Reloaded vs Passwords Evolved

Side-by-side comparison · 24 data points

External Database Authentication Reloaded

5.0·2reviews·30+installs

wordpress

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1. Listing metadata

Field-level data

	External Database Authentication Reloaded	Passwords Evolved
Tagline	—	—
Description	1050 / 5000 chars21% used	2385 / 5000 chars48% used
Screenshots	—	—
Languages
Platforms	WordPress	WordPress
Developer	Joshua Parker	Carl Alexander
Listed	—	—
Last updated	—	—

2. Categories & rankings

Shared categories on the same row · in-category position inline

External Database Authentication Reloaded

Passwords Evolved

At a glance

4 metrics · auto-computed

Feature comparison between External Database Authentication Reloaded and Passwords Evolved
Metric	External Database Authentication Reloaded	Passwords Evolved
Rating	5.0 ★	5.0 ★
Total reviews	2	2
Active installs	30+	1,000+
Free plan	—	—

3. App details

Long-form description · keyword frequency

External Database Authentication Reloaded

Please Note: When you update to version 1.2.1, you will need to re-enter the details on the settings page. This External DB Authentication plugin allows the use of an external MySQL, PostgreSQL, MSSQL, Sybase, Oracle, or SQLite database for authentication into WordPress. It is required that you know the encryption method for the passwords stored in the external database. Password encryption methods include MD5, SHA1, plaintext, PHPass, or enter a custom hash/salt method. It disables password reset/retrieval and account creation within the WordPress system on the user-end, and it doesn’t allow updating from the WordPress end back into the external authentication source. In addition to authentication, the plugin allows you to: Choose additional fields, such as first name/last name and website, to be imported into WordPress. Enter a custom message for users concerning logins. Do user role checks from the external database: you can set the plugin to check from a specific role field and compare to a value to allow login to WordPress.

Top keywords

external5×2.94%
wordpress5×2.94%
authentication4×2.35%
database3×1.76%
allow2×1.18%
allows2×1.18%
custom2×1.18%
encryption2×1.18%
enter2×1.18%
enter a custom2×1.18%
external database2×1.18%
method2×1.18%

Passwords Evolved

Important Notice: This plugin is no longer supported on wordpress.org. Please open issues on GitHub. The goal of this plugin is to shore up the WordPress authentication using standard security practice recommendations. At this time, the plugin improves WordPress authentication by doing the following: Enforcing uncompromised passwords This plugin prevents someone from using passwords that have appeared in data breaches. Whenever someone logs into a WordPress site, it’ll verify their password using the Have I been pwned? API. If their password appeared in a data breach, the plugin will prevent them from logging in until they reset their password. By default, this level of enforcement is only done on an account that has the “administrator” role. You can change which roles have their passwords enforced from the settings page. For people that have a role where there’s no password enforcement, the plugin will show a warning when they log in with a compromised password. The enforcement of uncompromised password also extends to when someone resets or changes their password. That said, in those situations, using an uncompromised password is mandatory. Someone will never be able to reset or change their password to one that’s appeared in a security breach. (As long as the plugin is able to contact the API.) Using stronger password hashing The plugin also encrypts passwords using either the bcrypt and Argon2 hashing functions. These are the strongest hashing functions available in PHP. Argon2 is available natively starting with PHP 7.2, but the plugin can also encrypt passwords on older PHP versions using the libsodium compatibility layer introduced in WordPress 5.2. You don’t have to do anything to convert your password hash to a stronger encryption standard. The plugin will take care of converting it the next time that you log in after installing the plugin. If you decide to remove the plugin, your password will continue working and remain encrypted until you reset it. It’s also worth noting that using a stronger hashing function is only important in the advent of a data breach. A stronger password hashing function makes decrypting the passwords from the data breach a lot harder to do. This combined with the enforcement of uncompromised passwords will help ensure that those passwords are never decrypted. (Or at least without significant effort.)

Top keywords

password13×3.36%
passwords8×2.07%
hashing5×1.29%

Frequently asked

Common questions about this comparison

Which has better reviews, External Database Authentication Reloaded or Passwords Evolved?

External Database Authentication Reloaded (5.0★, 2 reviews) and Passwords Evolved (5.0★, 2 reviews) are essentially tied on rating. Look at review velocity and individual reviewer quotes — both visible on each app's detail page — to differentiate.

Should I choose External Database Authentication Reloaded or Passwords Evolved?

AppRanks cannot recommend one over the other from published marketplace data: the WordPress Plugin Directory does not expose a rating or review base that separates them. Read both apps' detail pages for the feature breakdown, and compare against your own requirements rather than a headline number.

Which is faster to set up, External Database Authentication Reloaded or Passwords Evolved?

Both apps are one-click installs from the WordPress Plugin Directory. AppRanks doesn't measure setup time directly, and the WordPress Plugin Directory publishes no review base that would let us infer it for these two — read the recent reviews on each app's detail page for user-reported install experience.

Which works better for small vs large WordPress Plugin Directory site owners?

External Database Authentication Reloaded typically suits early-stage and growth-mode teams based on its published review base (2 reviews). Passwords Evolved typically suits early-stage and growth-mode teams based on its published review base (2 reviews). A larger review base generally means the app has been exercised at scale — relevant if you are processing high volume or handling enterprise compliance requirements.

Can I migrate data between External Database Authentication Reloaded and Passwords Evolved?

Migration support varies by app and category. External Database Authentication Reloaded and Passwords Evolved both publish their export options on their marketplace listing pages (or in their support docs); some apps offer one-click import from competitors, others require CSV. The fastest check: search "import from Passwords Evolved" in each app's help center. AppRanks does not track migration tooling directly — this is a category-specific capability worth verifying before commitment.

External Database Authentication Reloaded vs Passwords Evolved

External Database Authentication Reloaded

1. Listing metadata

2. Categories & rankings

Passwords Evolved

At a glance

AppRanks verdict

3. App details

Frequently asked

Which has better reviews, External Database Authentication Reloaded or Passwords Evolved?

Should I choose External Database Authentication Reloaded or Passwords Evolved?

Which is faster to set up, External Database Authentication Reloaded or Passwords Evolved?

Which works better for small vs large WordPress Plugin Directory site owners?

Can I migrate data between External Database Authentication Reloaded and Passwords Evolved?

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