wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “email support”
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 support”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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
Majestic Support – The Leading-Edge Help Desk & Customer Support Plugin shows at wp.org #12 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy places #9 on merit, 5.0★ from 4625 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356)
wp.org #1 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 3 
MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) heavy footprint
wp.org #3 ↓2 4 
Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses and Phone Numbers 90K+ · 4.9★ (94)
wp.org #4 5 
Fluent Support – Helpdesk & Customer Support Ticket System 10K+ · 4.6★ (69)
wp.org #5 6 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #8 ↓5 2 too low 7 
Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer 90K+ · 4.5★ (142)
wp.org #7 8 
Check & Log Email – Easy Email Testing & Mail logging 90K+ · 4.8★ (292) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #6 2 too high 9 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625)
wp.org #17 ↓4 8 too low 10 
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 
Email Templates Customizer and Designer for WordPress and WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (133)
wp.org #10 ↑6 1 too high 12 
Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701)
wp.org #16 ↓2 4 too low 13 
Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons 30K+ · 5.0★ (775)
wp.org #19 ↑5 6 too low 14 
FluentCRM – Email Newsletter, Automation, Email Marketing, Email Campaigns, Optins, Leads, and CRM Solution 80K+ · 4.8★ (250)
wp.org #15 ↑2 1 too low 15 
Email Subscribers & Newsletters by Icegram Express – Email Marketing, Post Notifications & WooCommerce Marekting Automation for WordPress 50K+ · 4.6★ (1170) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #14 ↓2 1 too high 16 
Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667)
wp.org #20 ↓2 4 too low 17 
Email Address Encoder 100K+ · 4.2★ (160)
wp.org #13 ↓2 4 too high 18 
Email Log 80K+ · 4.2★ (43)
wp.org #11 ↓2 7 too high 19 
Cart Abandonment Recovery for WooCommerce – Recover Lost Sales with Automated Emails 300K+ · 4.8★ (626) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #22 ↑1 3 too low 20 
Awesome Support – WordPress HelpDesk & Support Plugin 6K+ · 3.5★ (194) not PHP-current
wp.org #18 ↓3 2 too high 21 
WebToffee eCommerce Marketing Automation – Email marketing, Popups, Email customizer 10K+ · 4.8★ (54) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #21 ↓2 22 Majestic Support – The Leading-Edge Help Desk & Customer Support Plugin 3K+ · 5.0★ (8) not PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↓2 10 too high 23 
Email Customizer for WooCommerce | Drag and Drop Email Templates Builder 9K+ · 4.3★ (44) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #23 ↓2 24 
Support Genix – Helpdesk, AI Chatbot, Knowledge Base & Customer Support Ticketing System 3K+ · 4.5★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #24 ↓2 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.