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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “bcc”

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 “bcc”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

BCC All Emails shows at wp.org #5 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more places #11 on merit, 4.6★ from 709 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #1 2 WP Mail Logging 300K+ · 4.7★ (375) wp.org #2 ↑2 3 Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too low 5 Email Log 80K+ · 4.2★ (43) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 WC Multiple Email Recipients 4K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #3 ↓1 3 too high 7 WPO365 | MICROSOFT 365 GRAPH MAILER 10K+ · 5.0★ (40) wp.org #7 ↓2 8 Check & Log Email – Easy Email Testing & Mail logging 90K+ · 4.8★ (292) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 WPO365 | SEAMLESS WORDPRESS + MICROSOFT INTEGRATION (WPO365 | LOGIN) 10K+ · 4.9★ (154) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 Tidio – Live Chat & AI Chatbots 70K+ · 4.8★ (395) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too low 11 Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (709) wp.org #18 ↓1 7 too low 12 Kali Forms — Contact Form & Drag-and-Drop Builder 10K+ · 4.8★ (89) wp.org #11 ↓2 1 too high 13 Sliced Invoices – WordPress Invoice Plugin 4K+ · 4.6★ (117) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too high 14 CryptX 10K+ · 4.5★ (20) wp.org #9 ↓1 5 too high 15 WP eCards – Branded Digital Greeting Cards 300+ · 4.4★ (26) wp.org #20 ↓2 5 too low 16 Contact Form Generator : Creative form builder for WordPress 700+ · 4.4★ (67) wp.org #21 ↓1 5 too low 17 BCC All Emails 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 12 too high 18 FormGent – Next-Gen AI Form Builder for WordPress with Multi-Step, Quizzes, Payments & More 1K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #22 ↓1 4 too low 19 WP Email Log – PostBox 600+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 ↓2 3 too high 20 Email Deliverability – SMTP Replacement, Email API Deliverability & Email Log 200K+ · 2.5★ (17) wp.org #13 ↓1 7 too high 21 More Mails for CF7 500+ · 4.7★ (6) wp.org #23 ↓4 2 too low 22 Post Publish Email Notifier 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too high 23 Custom SMTP: Email Deliverability – FREE & Easy-to-use 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑3 4 too high 24 Send Emails — Newsletters, Automation & Email Marketing for WordPress 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.