Plugin Pulse
← Rankings

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

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 “deliverability”, we agree with wp.org 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 Deliverability – SMTP Replacement, Email API Deliverability & Email Log shows at wp.org #4 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 200K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.3★ average from 16 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 4353 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Post SMTP – Complete Email Deliverability and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (525) wp.org #1 2 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – The Most Popular SMTP and Email Log Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (5198) wp.org #2 3 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 600K+ · 4.8★ (405) wp.org #3 4 MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1432) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (707) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 WP Mail Logging 300K+ · 4.7★ (368) wp.org #10 ↓2 4 too low 7 Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4353) wp.org #19 12 too low 8 AcyMailing – An Ultimate Newsletter Plugin and Marketing Automation Solution for WordPress 5K+ · 4.8★ (157) wp.org #15 ↑1 7 too low 9 Solid Mail – SMTP email and logging made by SolidWP 60K+ · 4.2★ (52) wp.org #13 4 too low 10 Meow Mailer – Free SMTP, Everything Included 700+ · 4.9★ (17) wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too low 11 Deliverability – pass DKIM, SPF, DMARC & more 700+ · 4.2★ (15) wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too high 12 SureMail – SMTP and Email Logs Plugin with Amazon SES, Postmark, and Other Providers 200K+ · 4.7★ (25) wp.org #16 ↑1 4 too low 13 Icegram Mailer – Reliable Email Deliverability, No-code SMTP Replacement & Email logs 2K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too high 14 Email Log 80K+ · 4.2★ (43) wp.org #18 4 too low 15 Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress 1M+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #6 9 too high 16 Email Deliverability – SMTP Replacement, Email API Deliverability & Email Log 200K+ · 2.3★ (16) wp.org #4 12 too high 17 Web Accessibility (formally known as Ally) – WCAG Scanning, Guided Fixes, Usability Widget 500K+ · 2.9★ (162) wp.org #17 ↓2 18 SpinupWP 30K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 Mailjet Email Marketing 10K+ · 3.2★ (45) wp.org #23 ↑1 4 too low 20 Brevo for WooCommerce 30K+ · 3.4★ (54) wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too low 21 Klaviyo 100K+ · 2.8★ (24) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too low 22 GoSMTP – SMTP for WordPress 500K+ · 4.3★ (10) wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too high 23 Image Optimizer – Compress Images and Convert to WebP or AVIF 1M+ · 1.7★ (77) wp.org #14 9 too high 24 Custom SMTP: Email Deliverability – FREE & Easy-to-use 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓1 12 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.