wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “email tools”
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 tools”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 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
LWS Tools shows at wp.org #14 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 701 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519)
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 ↑18 3 
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #3 ↑13 4 
Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses and Phone Numbers 90K+ · 4.9★ (94)
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer 90K+ · 4.5★ (142)
wp.org #6 ↓2 1 too low 6 
Check & Log Email – Easy Email Testing & Mail logging 90K+ · 4.8★ (292) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701)
wp.org #12 5 too low 8 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #10 ↓8 2 too low 9 
Email Address Encoder 100K+ · 4.2★ (160)
wp.org #7 2 too high 10 
FluentCRM – Email Newsletter, Automation, Email Marketing, Email Campaigns, Optins, Leads, and CRM Solution 80K+ · 4.8★ (250)
wp.org #11 ↑3 1 too low 11 
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 #9 ↓3 2 too high 12 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint
wp.org #13 ↓4 1 too low 13 
Email Log 80K+ · 4.2★ (43)
wp.org #8 5 too high 14 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #22 ↑2 8 too low 15 
Email Marketing for WooCommerce by Omnisend 40K+ · 4.9★ (169)
wp.org #20 ↑3 5 too low 16 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #17 ↓6 1 too low 17 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #19 2 too low 18 
Cart Abandonment Recovery for WooCommerce – Recover Lost Sales with Automated Emails 300K+ · 4.8★ (625) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #16 2 too high 19 
WebToffee eCommerce Marketing Automation – Email marketing, Popups, Email customizer 10K+ · 4.8★ (54) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 ↓3 1 too high 20 
Mailonix – Email Template Customizer for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (105) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #23 ↓2 3 too low 21 
Send Users Email – Email Subscribers, Email Marketing Newsletter 5K+ · 4.5★ (28)
wp.org #21 ↓3 22 LWS Tools 10K+ · 5.0★ (6) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓4 8 too high 23 
Catch Web Tools 10K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↓2 8 too high 24 
Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress 1M+ · 5.0★ (8) host-installed base 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.