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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “custom 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 “custom smtp”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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 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 #4 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 200+ 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

RegistrationMagic – Custom Registration Forms, User Registration, Payment, and User Login places #10 on merit, 4.5★ from 459 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. 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 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #2 3 Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (709) wp.org #3 4 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #9 ↑2 5 too low 5 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #10 ↑2 5 too low 6 Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 Solid Mail – SMTP email and logging made by SolidWP 60K+ · 4.2★ (52) wp.org #7 ↓1 8 SAR Friendly SMTP 2K+ · 4.6★ (46) wp.org #8 9 YaySMTP – WP Mail SMTP with Email Logs, Tracking & Reports 10K+ · 4.9★ (45) wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too low 10 RegistrationMagic – Custom Registration Forms, User Registration, Payment, and User Login 7K+ · 4.5★ (459) wp.org #21 11 too low 11 Custom Contact Forms 6K+ · 3.5★ (171) wp.org #17 6 too low 12 GoSMTP – SMTP for WordPress 500K+ · 4.3★ (10) wp.org #5 ↓1 7 too high 13 Swift SMTP (formerly Welcome Email Editor) 7K+ · 4.2★ (68) wp.org #22 ↓3 9 too low 14 SmartSMTP 2K+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #6 ↑1 8 too high 15 Bit SMTP – Easy SMTP Solution with Email Logs 2K+ · 3.9★ (15) wp.org #12 ↓3 3 too high 16 Simple SMTP 2K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #24 ↓4 8 too low 17 Simple SMTP by Maileroo 800+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too high 18 Custom SMTP: Email Deliverability – FREE & Easy-to-use 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #4 ↑1 14 too high 19 Pro Mail SMTP 300+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #18 ↓2 1 too high 20 MailerSend – Official SMTP Integration 2K+ · 2.8★ (12) wp.org #20 ↓2 21 Pinny’s Simple SMTP – Lightweight SMTP Mailer 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too high 22 Email Deliverability – SMTP Replacement, Email API Deliverability & Email Log 200K+ · 2.5★ (17) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Mesh SMTP – Easy WordPress SMTP & Email Delivery 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓2 4 too high 24 SMTP for Contact Form 7 1K+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓3 11 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.