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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “debug log”

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 “debug log”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 3 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

Debug Log Viewer shows at wp.org #4 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Mail Logging places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 375 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 Debug Log Manager – Conveniently Monitor and Inspect Errors 10K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #1 2 Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Debug Log Manager Tool 3K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too low 5 Email Log 80K+ · 4.2★ (43) wp.org #5 6 WP Mail Log 10K+ · 4.9★ (66) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7 Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (709) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #15 ↓12 7 too low 9 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 Check & Log Email – Easy Email Testing & Mail logging 90K+ · 4.8★ (292) wp.org #13 3 too low 11 Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too low 12 WP Mail Logging 300K+ · 4.7★ (375) wp.org #24 12 too low 13 Debug 2K+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #6 7 too high 14 Activity Log Pro – User Activity Log, Audit Log & Security Monitor 400+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #10 ↑1 4 too high 15 Advanced Cron Manager – debug & control 30K+ · 4.7★ (39) wp.org #18 ↓2 3 too low 16 Dashboard Widgets Suite 4K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #22 ↓1 6 too low 17 Error Log Viewer by BestWebSoft 5K+ · 4.8★ (9) wp.org #11 ↓1 6 too high 18 Debug This 2K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #21 ↓3 3 too low 19 Debug Log Viewer 1K+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #4 15 too high 20 Developer Debug Tools 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 KolorWeb Log Manager: cleaver debugging management 50+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 atec Debug 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too high 23 ElasticPress Debugging Add-On 800+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 BugTrace – Debug Log Tool 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 15 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.