wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “email debugging”
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 “email debugging”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20.
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
Solid Mail – SMTP email and logging made by SolidWP shows at wp.org #8 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 60K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 52 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 2433 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.
Check & Log Email – Easy Email Testing & Mail logging 90K+ · 4.8★ (292)
wp.org #1 2 
FluentCRM – Email Newsletter, Automation, Email Marketing, Email Campaigns, Optins, Leads, and CRM Solution 80K+ · 4.8★ (250)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
Email Log 80K+ · 4.2★ (43)
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #4 5 
Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (709)
wp.org #7 2 too low 6 
Kit (formerly ConvertKit) – Email Newsletter, Email Marketing, Membership, Subscribers and Landing Pages 40K+ · 4.8★ (90)
wp.org #6 7 
PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865)
wp.org #13 ↓2 6 too low 8 
WP Crontrol 300K+ · 4.4★ (167)
wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433)
wp.org #19 ↑2 10 too low 10 
Email Tracker 800+ · 4.4★ (21) thin reviews
wp.org #5 5 too high 11 
Mail logging & Catcher 20K+ · 4.9★ (108)
wp.org #12 1 too low 12 
Redis Object Cache 500K+ · 4.5★ (179)
wp.org #10 2 too high 13 
Query Monitor 200K+ · 4.9★ (470)
wp.org #16 ↑1 3 too low 14 Solid Mail – SMTP email and logging made by SolidWP 60K+ · 4.2★ (52)
wp.org #8 6 too high 15 
FunnelKit Automations – Email Marketing Automation and CRM for WordPress & WooCommerce 20K+ · 5.0★ (346)
wp.org #17 ↓2 2 too low 16 
Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74)
wp.org #11 ↑5 5 too high 17 
WP Mail Log 10K+ · 4.9★ (66)
wp.org #21 ↓1 4 too low 18 
Custom Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.3★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too high 19 
NinjaScanner – Virus & Malware scan 40K+ · 4.0★ (36)
wp.org #24 ↓1 5 too low 20 
Add Plain-Text Email 100+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too high 21 
Users Birthday Email 90+ · 4.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #18 3 too high 22 
SmartSMTP 2K+ · 4.7★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #22 23 
FlyWP Helper – Page Cache, Page Optimization, Emails for FlyWP Server Control Panel 4K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓1 24 
Server Info for Debugging 200+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↓1 4 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.