wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “edit mail”
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 “edit mail”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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
Custom Forgot Password Mail shows at wp.org #4 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Translate WordPress with GTranslate places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 4962 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.
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 
Mail Mint – Email Marketing, Automation & WooCommerce Emails with AI Assistance 4K+ · 4.7★ (125)
wp.org #2 3 
Email Template Designer – WP HTML Mail 20K+ · 4.8★ (87)
wp.org #3 4 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #7 3 too low 5 
Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259)
wp.org #9 4 too low 6 
Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3004)
wp.org #11 5 too low 7 
Flexible Checkout Fields for WooCommerce – WooCommerce Checkout Manager 80K+ · 4.7★ (296)
wp.org #10 3 too low 8 
Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 9 
Easy Google Maps by Supsystic – Custom Markers, Clustering & Map Themes 20K+ · 4.6★ (251)
wp.org #14 5 too low 10 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #19 9 too low 11 
WP Crontrol 300K+ · 4.4★ (167)
wp.org #13 2 too low 12 
Germanized for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (496)
wp.org #21 9 too low 13 
Antispam Bee 700K+ · 4.8★ (226)
wp.org #16 3 too low 14 
Ultimate WP Mail 700+ · 4.5★ (21) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #5 9 too high 15 
Product Customer List for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.9★ (75)
wp.org #15 16 
Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer 90K+ · 4.5★ (142)
wp.org #17 1 too low 17 C Custom Forgot Password Mail 300+ · 4.8★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #4 13 too high 18 
GSheetConnector – CF7 Google Sheets Connector & Save CF7 Entries to Database 40K+ · 4.4★ (129) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #12 6 too high 19 
F4 Shipping Phone and E-Mail for WooCommerce 700+ · 5.0★ (8) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #6 13 too high 20 W WP Meta and Date Remover 80K+ · 4.2★ (71)
wp.org #20 21 
XO Security 30K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #22 1 too low 22 
CM E-Mail Blacklist – Simple email filtering for safer registration 700+ · 4.5★ (8) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #23 1 too low 23 
SendForce Mail SMTP Relay – SMTP and Email API 10+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #18 5 too high 24 
WP All Import – Import SEO Settings for Rank Math SEO 6K+ · 4.5★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #24 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.