Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 “dkim”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 2 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

SMTP for Contact Form 7 shows at wp.org #15 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Easy Form Builder by WhiteStudio – Drag & Drop Form Builder places #9 on merit, 5.0★ from 70 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) wp.org #1 2 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 SMTP2GO for WordPress – Email Made Easy 40K+ · 5.0★ (67) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too low 5 Email Auth – DKIM, SPF, DMARC, Bounce Address, From Address 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 CF7 Apps – Addons for Contact Form 7 (Honeypot, Database, Redirection, Webhook, etc.) 300K+ · 3.8★ (135) wp.org #6 7 Newsletters 2K+ · 4.7★ (246) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too low 8 Deliverability – pass DKIM, SPF, DMARC & more 700+ · 4.2★ (15) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too high 9 Easy Form Builder by WhiteStudio – Drag & Drop Form Builder 1K+ · 5.0★ (70) wp.org #20 ↓1 11 too low 10 Recapture for Easy Digital Downloads 500+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too low 11 Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress 1M+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #5 6 too high 12 Recapture for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #14 2 too low 13 atec SMTP Mail 60+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 MailHawk — Simple SMTP, Email Delivery, and Email Logging 300+ · 3.4★ (10) wp.org #24 ↓1 10 too low 15 Bukza 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 ActiveTrail – Contact Form 7 500+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 6 too high 17 InboxAuth – Email Security, Setup SPF / DKIM, DMARC & Check Email Authenticity 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 4 too high 18 Custom SMTP: Email Deliverability – FREE & Easy-to-use 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too high 19 Email Essentials 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓2 3 too low 20 Email Health Check & Log for WooCommerce – SPF, DKIM, DMARC & Alerts — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too high 21 Recapture for Paid Memberships Pro 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 22 Authority Mailer SMTP – WordPress SMTP Plugin with Email Logs 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 SMTP for Contact Form 7 1K+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #15 8 too high 24 Mailster Gmail Integration 1K+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #19 5 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.