wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “admin automation”
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 “admin automation”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 4 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 Flashy Marketing Automation shows at wp.org #7 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
FunnelKit Automations – Email Marketing Automation and CRM for WordPress & WooCommerce places #6 on merit, 5.0★ from 346 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) heavy footprint
wp.org #1 2 
Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312)
wp.org #2 3 
Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701)
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519)
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
FluentCRM – Email Newsletter, Automation, Email Marketing, Email Campaigns, Optins, Leads, and CRM Solution 80K+ · 4.8★ (250)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 FunnelKit Automations – Email Marketing Automation and CRM for WordPress & WooCommerce 20K+ · 5.0★ (346)
wp.org #10 4 too low 7 
BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #5 2 too high 8 
ShopMagic – email automation for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (78)
wp.org #11 ↓3 3 too low 9 
Noptin – Newsletter, New Post Notifications & Email Automation 10K+ · 4.5★ (120) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 ↑5 1 too high 10 
Jetpack CRM – Clients, Leads, Invoices, Billing, Email Marketing, & Automation 30K+ · 4.3★ (152)
wp.org #13 ↓2 3 too low 11 
OttoKit: All-in-One Automation Platform 90K+ · 4.9★ (125) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #9 2 too high 12 
Mail Mint – Email Marketing, Automation & WooCommerce Emails with AI Assistance 4K+ · 4.7★ (125)
wp.org #15 ↑3 3 too low 13 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #18 ↑2 5 too low 14 
Bit integrations – Form Integration, Webhook, Spreadsheets, CRM, LMS & Email Automation 20K+ · 4.9★ (160)
wp.org #21 7 too low 15 
AutomatorWP – No-Code Workflow Automation, Integration & Webhooks Plugin, now with AI 6K+ · 4.8★ (202) heavy footprint
wp.org #19 ↓2 4 too low 16 
Groundhogg — CRM, Newsletters, and Marketing Automation 2K+ · 4.8★ (150) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #16 ↓2 17 
Zoho Flow – No-Code Workflow Automation 5K+ · 5.0★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↑4 5 too high 18 
Sender – Newsletter, SMS and Email Marketing Automation for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.8★ (83)
wp.org #24 6 too low 19 
WP Webhooks – Automate repetitive tasks by creating powerful automation workflows directly within WordPress 20K+ · 4.7★ (55)
wp.org #22 ↑1 3 too low 20 
All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35)
wp.org #14 ↓2 6 too high 21 
WPBot – AI ChatBot for Live Support, Lead Generation, WordPress Automation, AI Services 5K+ · 4.7★ (124) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #23 ↑1 2 too low 22 
Church Admin 900+ · 4.7★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↓2 5 too high 23 
Metorik – Reports & Email Automation for WooCommerce 9K+ · 5.0★ (20) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 WP Flashy Marketing Automation 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #7 17 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.