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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “catch email”

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 “catch email”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 5 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

Email Gated Downloads shows at wp.org #10 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 13 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

Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 591 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 YayMail – WooCommerce Email Customizer 50K+ · 4.8★ (291) wp.org #5 ↓1 3 too low 3 Catch Web Tools 10K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #13 ↓1 9 too low 5 Emails Catch All 600+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 WP Mail Logging 300K+ · 4.7★ (375) wp.org #12 ↓1 6 too low 7 Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514) wp.org #18 ↓4 11 too low 8 YaySMTP – WP Mail SMTP with Email Logs, Tracking & Reports 10K+ · 4.9★ (45) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #15 5 too low 11 Easy Digital Downloads – eCommerce Payments and Subscriptions made easy 40K+ · 4.7★ (591) wp.org #24 ↓4 13 too low 12 DeBounce Email Validator 300+ · 3.9★ (16) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 FireBox – WooCommerce Popup Builder, Exit Intent Popup, Email Optin & Cart Abandonment 6K+ · 4.8★ (76) wp.org #21 ↓3 8 too low 14 Reoon Email Verifier 600+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 ↑1 10 too high 15 Clearout Email Validator – Real-Time Email Verification on WordPress Forms 500+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #6 ↑1 9 too high 16 Metorik – Reports & Email Automation for WooCommerce 9K+ · 5.0★ (20) wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too high 17 Customer Email Verification for WooCommerce – OTP Verification, Block Fake Signups 2K+ · 4.2★ (20) wp.org #11 ↓5 6 too high 18 Gravity Forms Zero Spam 100K+ · 4.3★ (24) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19 SilentShield – Captcha & Anti-Spam for WordPress (CF7, WPForms, Elementor, WooCommerce) 10K+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #22 3 too low 20 Byteplant Email Validator 90+ · 3.8★ (9) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 WebFacing™ – Email Accounts management for cPanel® 100+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #19 ↓6 2 too high 22 ZeroBounce Email Verification & Validation 900+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 Email Gated Downloads 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 13 too high 24 Email Checker for Contact Form 7 90+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↓2 1 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.