Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “emailing”

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 “emailing”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Advanced Emailing for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #2 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 10+ 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

Appointment Booking Plugin – LatePoint | Calendar & Scheduling for WordPress places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 106 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539) wp.org #1 2 Envira Gallery – Image Photo Gallery, Albums, Video Gallery, Slideshows & More 100K+ · 4.7★ (1596) wp.org #5 ↓2 3 too low 3 Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) wp.org #3 4 Database Backup for WordPress 60K+ · 4.5★ (66) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88) wp.org #7 ↓3 2 too low 6 PDF Builder for WooCommerce. Create invoices,packing slips and more 2K+ · 4.7★ (145) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 E2Pdf – Export Pdf Tool for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (59) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Smart Coupons For WooCommerce Coupons 30K+ · 4.7★ (133) wp.org #8 ↑3 9 Free Downloads WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.7★ (85) wp.org #9 ↓1 10 AIO Forms – Craft Complex Forms Easily 600+ · 4.9★ (34) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 Appointment Booking Plugin – LatePoint | Calendar & Scheduling for WordPress 100K+ · 4.9★ (106) wp.org #19 8 too low 12 EventPrime – Events Calendar, Bookings, Tickets & AI 7K+ · 4.4★ (85) wp.org #15 ↓8 3 too low 13 Send Users Email – Email Subscribers, Email Marketing Newsletter 5K+ · 4.5★ (28) wp.org #16 ↓2 3 too low 14 Multibanco, MB WAY, Credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Payshop, and PIX (ifthenpay) for WooCommerce 8K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #12 ↑4 2 too high 15 Pre-Orders for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.5★ (66) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too low 16 Advanced Emailing for WooCommerce 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 14 too high 17 Sprout Clients – CRM and Lead Management 30+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #18 ↓2 1 too low 18 Accept PayPal & Stripe with Subscriptions for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.8★ (9) wp.org #14 ↓4 4 too high 19 Hyve Lite – AI Chatbot Trained on WordPress Posts, Pages, Products & More with ChatGPT 7K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #24 ↓1 5 too low 20 Price Calculator Block – give customers instant price estimates 200+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too low 21 Subscribe to Download Lite – Email Before Download Plugin 400+ · 3.0★ (4) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 Payfast Gateway for WooCommerce 2K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 ShopMagic for Contact Form 7 and WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↓1 10 too high 24 Faire for WooCommerce 800+ · 3.0★ (5) wp.org #20 ↓1 4 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.