MailHawk — Simple SMTP, Email Delivery, and Email Logging
by Adrian Tobey · Email & Marketing
Also makes 6 other plugins · 4.7K+ installs across the portfolio →
An easier SMTP service for WordPress. Improve your WordPress email deliverability!
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
C 68/100
Stale
Active installs
300+
≈370 estimated
Momentum
-36%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “email” and “smtp” for “dkim” and “spf”. “email” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “dkim” sits at #24 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “smtp” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “spf” sits at #24 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
68 health vs 66 average across 2,122 Email & Marketing plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.3%
of downloads still active
At least 300 of 93.5K lifetime downloads are still running, below its category: the median Email & Marketing plugin keeps 0.9%, across 1,295 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Email & Marketing plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
Details
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Well optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 412 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.8.12, the current branch or newer
3.4★ over 10 reviews, smoothed to 3.98★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 412 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
Get the full rank-higher report →Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
42
Momentum
Mixed: one swing, the rest drifting
0.0
Velocity
places per keyword, 19d
25%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 19d
+0.7
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| spf | #24 | #16 | 0 |
| dkim | #24 | #14 | down 1 |
| email your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| smtp your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| smtp plugin your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| wordpress smtp your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| wp mail smtp your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
4 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 2 listed. 2 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “email” and “smtp” for “dkim” and “spf”. “email” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “dkim” sits at #24 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “smtp” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “spf” sits at #24 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
Daily downloads
Since 1 Nov 2024 · 730 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 766 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #10,100 to #11,100, alongside the other plugins at 300+ installs. Plugins with the same install count swap places between wp.org requests, so this is where most of them sit. Checked monthly, last on 1 Nov 2026.
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “300+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Modeled within the band wp.org reports; tightens as we track daily.
Install history since 15 Sep 2026
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceThe 1 disclosed vulnerability is patched in the current version (1.3.5). Sites still on an older version should update.
- Patched Critical · 9.8 WordPress SMTP Service, Email Delivery Solved! — MailHawk <= 1.3.1 - Unauthenticated Local File Inclusion ↗2025-04-09 CVE-2025-31015 Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program Affects <= 1.3.1 Patched in 1.3.2
Vulnerability records provided by Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. License and terms.
CVE records: Copyright 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. CVE terms of use.
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
8 of 8 pass · checked 28 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "An easier SMTP service for WordPress. Improve your WordPress email deliverability!"
- ✓ Has a FAQ 6 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 6 of 6 read like questions a user would type.
- ✓ Names who it is for Names its audience or use cases ("use this", "if you need").
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions WooCommerce, BuddyPress, BuddyBoss, LearnDash and 3 more.
- ✓ Headings and lists 10 headings and 3 lists.
- ✓ Enough to quote 3,378 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "WP Mail SMTP" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
No tier crossings observed yet.
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
-
Solid Mail – SMTP email and logging made by SolidWP 60K+ installs · 4.2★ · 3 shared tags B -
Bit SMTP – Easy SMTP Solution with Email Logs 2K+ installs · 3.9★ · 3 shared tags B -
SmartSMTP 2K+ installs · 4.1★ · 3 shared tags B -
SMTP by BestWebSoft 1K+ installs · 4.2★ · 3 shared tags C -
WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A -
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for MailHawk — Simple SMTP, Email Delivery, and Email Logging into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/mailhawk" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="MailHawk — Simple SMTP, Email Delivery, and Email Logging — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> MailHawk — Simple SMTP, Email Delivery, and Email Logging: 300+ active installs, 3.4★ (10 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/mailhawk
Spotted a number that looks wrong? Report a data issue and we'll check it against the source.