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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “aws smtp”

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 “aws smtp”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Custom SMTP: Email Deliverability – FREE & Easy-to-use shows at wp.org #6 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 100+ 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

miniOrange OTP Login, Verification and SMS Notifications places #6 on merit, 4.7★ from 439 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – The Most Popular SMTP and Email Log Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (5198) wp.org #1 2 Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (707) wp.org #2 3 SureMail – SMTP and Email Logs Plugin with Amazon SES, Postmark, and Other Providers 200K+ · 4.7★ (25) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Backuply – Backup, Restore, Migrate and Clone 600K+ · 4.5★ (135) wp.org #9 5 too low 5 SMTP for Amazon SES – YaySMTP 3K+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 miniOrange OTP Login, Verification and SMS Notifications 5K+ · 4.7★ (439) wp.org #22 16 too low 7 GoSMTP – SMTP for WordPress 500K+ · 4.3★ (10) wp.org #3 4 too high 8 SureContact – Newsletters, Email Marketing, Automation, Revenue Tracking & CRM 10K+ · 4.8★ (18) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too low 9 WP Offload SES Lite 10K+ · 4.3★ (36) wp.org #14 ↓2 5 too low 10 WPMasterToolKit (WPMTK) – All in one plugin 5K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too low 11 Email Tracker 800+ · 4.4★ (21) wp.org #19 8 too low 12 Pro Mail SMTP 300+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 weMail – Email Marketing, Newsletters Builder & Email Automations for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.1★ (30) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 Post Status Notifier Lite 700+ · 3.9★ (17) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 FlyWP Helper – Page Cache, Page Optimization, Emails for FlyWP Server Control Panel 4K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16 SendForce Mail SMTP Relay – SMTP and Email API 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too high 17 Custom SMTP: Email Deliverability – FREE & Easy-to-use 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 11 too high 18 King SMTP – Email Log & Delivery 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 10 too high 19 Blaminhor Essentials – Redirects, Broken Links, Favicon, Maintenance, Classic Editor & 21 More 90+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too low 20 OrangeSMTP – SMTP, Email Log & Failure Alerts — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↑1 21 A API Mailer for AWS SES 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↑6 11 too high 22 AHA Mail SMTP 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓2 9 too high 23 Lean SMTP 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 Frumbik SMTP — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 7 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.