wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “email users”
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 users”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20. 3 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 Log shows at wp.org #13 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 80K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 43 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin places #8 on merit, 4.4★ from 1445 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.
Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259)
wp.org #1 ↑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 #4 2 too low 3 
MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) heavy footprint
wp.org #3 ↓2 4 
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
Send Users Email – Email Subscribers, Email Marketing Newsletter 5K+ · 4.5★ (28)
wp.org #2 ↑1 3 too high 6 
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #7 ↑3 1 too low 7 
Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses and Phone Numbers 90K+ · 4.9★ (94)
wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #12 ↑2 4 too low 9 
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 10 
Check & Log Email – Easy Email Testing & Mail logging 90K+ · 4.8★ (292) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too high 11 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #14 ↓10 3 too low 12 
Email Templates Customizer and Designer for WordPress and WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (133)
wp.org #11 ↓2 1 too high 13 
Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701)
wp.org #18 ↓2 5 too low 14 
Export and Import Users and Customers 50K+ · 4.8★ (442) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #10 ↑1 4 too high 15 
FluentCRM – Email Newsletter, Automation, Email Marketing, Email Campaigns, Optins, Leads, and CRM Solution 80K+ · 4.8★ (250)
wp.org #17 ↓2 2 too low 16 
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 #16 ↓8 17 
Email Address Encoder 100K+ · 4.2★ (160)
wp.org #15 ↓3 2 too high 18 
Change Admin Email 40K+ · 4.8★ (141)
wp.org #19 ↑2 1 too low 19 
User Switching 200K+ · 4.9★ (238)
wp.org #22 ↓3 3 too low 20 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint
wp.org #24 ↓4 4 too low 21 Email Log 80K+ · 4.2★ (43)
wp.org #13 8 too high 22 
Cart Abandonment Recovery for WooCommerce – Recover Lost Sales with Automated Emails 300K+ · 4.8★ (625) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 2 too high 23 
Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74)
wp.org #23 24 
Mass Email To Users 800+ · 3.1★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓4 3 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.