wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “email filter”
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 filter”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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
Advanced Email Filter for Elementor Forms shows at wp.org #15 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 9 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
Email Subscribers & Newsletters by Icegram Express – Email Marketing, Post Notifications & WooCommerce Marekting Automation for WordPress places #9 on merit, 4.6★ from 1170 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435)
wp.org #1 2 
Product Filter for WooCommerce by WBW 50K+ · 4.8★ (325)
wp.org #2 ↑1 3 
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 #3 ↓1 4 
Check & Log Email – Easy Email Testing & Mail logging 90K+ · 4.8★ (292)
wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 
Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses and Phone Numbers 90K+ · 4.9★ (94)
wp.org #4 1 too high 6 
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205)
wp.org #7 ↑8 1 too low 7 
Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer 90K+ · 4.5★ (142)
wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too high 8 
Email Templates Customizer and Designer for WordPress and WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (133)
wp.org #8 ↑5 9 Email Subscribers & Newsletters by Icegram Express – Email Marketing, Post Notifications & WooCommerce Marekting Automation for WordPress 50K+ · 4.6★ (1170)
wp.org #13 ↓4 4 too low 10 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #11 ↓6 1 too low 11 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #14 ↓3 3 too low 12 
FluentCRM – Email Newsletter, Automation, Email Marketing, Email Campaigns, Optins, Leads, and CRM Solution 80K+ · 4.8★ (250)
wp.org #12 ↑2 13 
Email Address Encoder 100K+ · 4.2★ (160)
wp.org #10 3 too high 14 
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221)
wp.org #21 ↓5 7 too low 15 
Cart Abandonment Recovery for WooCommerce – Recover Lost Sales with Automated Emails 300K+ · 4.8★ (626)
wp.org #17 ↑3 2 too low 16 
The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461)
wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too low 17 
Email Log 80K+ · 4.2★ (43)
wp.org #9 ↓1 8 too high 18 
Email Marketing for WooCommerce by Omnisend 40K+ · 4.9★ (169)
wp.org #20 ↑4 2 too low 19 
Mailonix – Email Template Customizer for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (105)
wp.org #22 ↓1 3 too low 20 
Email Customizer for WooCommerce | Drag and Drop Email Templates Builder 9K+ · 4.3★ (44)
wp.org #16 ↑2 4 too high 21 
Contact Form Email 8K+ · 4.3★ (102)
wp.org #24 ↓1 3 too low 22 
Send Users Email – Email Subscribers, Email Marketing Newsletter 5K+ · 4.5★ (28)
wp.org #19 3 too high 23 
WC Multiple Email Recipients 4K+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓1 24 Advanced Email Filter for Elementor Forms 200+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↓3 9 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.