wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “email encryption”
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 encryption”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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 No Bot – Prevent bots from detecting emails shows at wp.org #11 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 142 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.
WP Encryption: Easy HTTPS / SSL & Free SSL certificate, HTTPS redirect 50K+ · 4.9★ (1146)
wp.org #1 ↑3 2 
WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209)
wp.org #2 ↑4 3 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint
wp.org #3 ↓2 4 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #5 ↓3 1 too low 5 
Email Address Encoder 100K+ · 4.2★ (160)
wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706)
wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too low 7 
Duplicator – Backups & Migration Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups, & More 1M+ · 4.9★ (4940) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #8 9 
Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (709)
wp.org #12 3 too low 10 
WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging 900K+ · 4.9★ (1568)
wp.org #15 ↑1 5 too low 11 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142)
wp.org #20 9 too low 12 
Swift SMTP (formerly Welcome Email Editor) 7K+ · 4.2★ (68)
wp.org #14 2 too low 13 
WP SMTP Mailer – SMTP7 8K+ · 5.0★ (115)
wp.org #22 ↓1 9 too low 14 
YaySMTP – WP Mail SMTP with Email Logs, Tracking & Reports 10K+ · 4.9★ (45)
wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too low 15 
SMTP Mailer 70K+ · 4.6★ (67)
wp.org #19 ↓2 4 too low 16 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current
wp.org #24 8 too low 17 
SureMail – SMTP and Email Logs Plugin with Amazon SES, Postmark, and Other Providers 200K+ · 4.7★ (25)
wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too high 18 
CryptX 10K+ · 4.5★ (20) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↓1 8 too high 19 
Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress 1M+ · 5.0★ (8) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #7 12 too high 20 
WP Email Template 2K+ · 3.1★ (35)
wp.org #13 7 too high 21 
Email OTP Authenticator – Login, Register & 2FA 100+ · 5.0★ (12) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too high 22 
Bit SMTP – Easy SMTP Solution with Email Logs 2K+ · 3.9★ (15) not PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too high 23 
SmartSMTP 2K+ · 4.7★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #23 24 Email No Bot – Prevent bots from detecting emails 200+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #11 13 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.