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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “e mailing”

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 “e mailing”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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

rapidmail: Newsletter & E-Mail Marketing for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #4 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.3★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Return Refund and Exchange For WooCommerce places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 124 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 Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) wp.org #1 2 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 Genesis eNews Extended 40K+ · 4.7★ (28) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Postie 10K+ · 4.7★ (139) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (973) wp.org #8 ↓2 3 too low 6 RSS Aggregator by Feedzy – Feed to Post, Autoblogging, News & YouTube Video Feeds Aggregator 40K+ · 4.6★ (361) wp.org #13 ↑2 7 too low 7 WP Popups – WordPress Popup builder 30K+ · 4.9★ (112) wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too low 8 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #15 ↓5 7 too low 9 WPBot – AI ChatBot for Live Support, Lead Generation, WordPress Automation, AI Services 5K+ · 4.7★ (124) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 Another Mailchimp Widget 4K+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #6 ↑1 4 too high 11 Subscribe Forms – Beautiful Email Forms, Embedded Newsletter Forms & MailChimp Form 2K+ · 4.7★ (60) wp.org #17 6 too low 12 Return Refund and Exchange For WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.7★ (124) wp.org #24 12 too low 13 Forms for Mailchimp by Optin Cat – Grow Your MailChimp List 2K+ · 4.4★ (77) wp.org #18 5 too low 14 Contest Gallery – Upload & Vote Photos, Media, Sell with PayPal & Stripe 1K+ · 4.4★ (89) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 Cart Lift – Abandoned Cart Recovery for WooCommerce and EDD 900+ · 4.8★ (9) wp.org #10 ↑1 5 too high 16 Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress 1M+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #7 ↑1 9 too high 17 Signature Add-On for Gravity Forms 1K+ · 3.9★ (21) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too low 18 CleverReach® WP 4K+ · 3.0★ (8) wp.org #9 9 too high 19 Digital Signature Add-on for WooCommerce 900+ · 3.1★ (19) wp.org #19 ↑1 20 rapidmail: Newsletter & E-Mail Marketing for WooCommerce 400+ · 2.3★ (3) wp.org #4 ↓1 16 too high 21 Ninja Forms Signature Contract Add-On 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #23 ↓1 2 too low 22 WP Flashy Marketing Automation 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↑1 11 too high 23 Maileon for WordPress 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 7 too high 24 Oderland SMTP & Postal Mailer 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 3 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.