wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “emails limits”
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 “emails limits”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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
Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress shows at wp.org #7 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 1M+ 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
Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 8869 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. 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) heavy footprint
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 
Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1489)
wp.org #3 4 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #4 5 
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #5 6 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7 
WPS Limit Login 100K+ · 4.9★ (83)
wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too low 8 
Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244)
wp.org #16 ↑3 8 too low 9 
Sender – Newsletter, SMS and Email Marketing Automation for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.8★ (83)
wp.org #11 2 too low 10 
Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses and Phone Numbers 90K+ · 4.9★ (94)
wp.org #13 3 too low 11 
Customer Email Verification for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.8★ (47)
wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869)
wp.org #24 12 too low 13 
Log Emails 6K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #6 ↑1 7 too high 14 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #18 ↓2 4 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 #19 ↑2 4 too low 16 
Mail Mint – Email Marketing, Automation & WooCommerce Emails with AI Assistance 4K+ · 4.7★ (125)
wp.org #21 ↑2 5 too low 17 
ShopMagic – email automation for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (78)
wp.org #20 ↓3 3 too low 18 
Kit (formerly ConvertKit) – Email Newsletter, Email Marketing, Membership, Subscribers and Landing Pages 40K+ · 4.8★ (90)
wp.org #22 4 too low 19 
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) not PHP-current
wp.org #23 ↓3 4 too low 20 
Noptin – Newsletter, New Post Notifications & Email Automation 10K+ · 4.5★ (120) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #17 ↑1 3 too high 21 R Restrict Usernames Emails Characters 1K+ · 4.5★ (25)
wp.org #15 6 too high 22 
Additional Custom Emails & Recipients for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (18) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #12 10 too high 23 Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress 1M+ · 5.0★ (8) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #7 ↓1 16 too high 24 
MaxLimits – Increase Maximum Upload, Post & PHP Limits 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #14 10 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.