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

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 “esp”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 2 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

AI Marketing Expert — AI Email Marketing, AI Content Generator, SEO Analyzer, AI Workflow Automation, Social Media & Ai Chatbot shows at wp.org #3 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 2K+ 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

FunnelKit Automations – Email Marketing Automation and CRM for WordPress & WooCommerce places #5 on merit, 5.0★ from 346 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Solid Mail – SMTP email and logging made by SolidWP 60K+ · 4.2★ (52) wp.org #1 2 Email Marketing for WooCommerce by Omnisend 40K+ · 4.9★ (169) wp.org #6 ↑2 4 too low 3 Icegram Collect – Easy Contact Form, Subscription Form & Lead Collection Plugin for WordPress 2K+ · 4.7★ (30) wp.org #4 ↑3 1 too low 4 Sprout Invoices – Client Invoicing & Estimates 1K+ · 4.4★ (191) wp.org #7 ↑2 3 too low 5 FunnelKit Automations – Email Marketing Automation and CRM for WordPress & WooCommerce 20K+ · 5.0★ (346) wp.org #11 ↑2 6 too low 6 Icegram Engage – Popups, Welcome Bars, Optins, Slide-Ins & Lead Generation for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (370) wp.org #8 ↑4 2 too low 7 Mailster WordPress Newsletter Plugin 7K+ · 3.5★ (8) wp.org #2 5 too high 8 MailOptin – Popup, Optin Forms & Email Newsletters for Mailchimp, HubSpot, AWeber Etc. 10K+ · 4.8★ (438) wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too low 9 Gratisfaction- Loyalty, Rewards , Referral, Birthday and Giveaway Program 600+ · 4.8★ (205) wp.org #13 ↑2 4 too low 10 Email Subscription Popup — Newsletter & GDPR Consent 1K+ · 3.8★ (11) wp.org #5 ↑1 5 too high 11 Dilli Email Validator 100+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #12 ↑2 1 too low 12 AI Marketing Expert — AI Email Marketing, AI Content Generator, SEO Analyzer, AI Workflow Automation, Social Media & Ai Chatbot 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 ↑1 9 too high 13 Optinly – Exit Intent, Newsletter Popups, Gamification & Opt-in Forms 700+ · 4.3★ (16) wp.org #22 ↑2 9 too low 14 S Stop Comment Spam 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 ↑2 1 too low 15 Newspack Newsletters 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↑1 6 too high 16 Mailster Dummy Mailer 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↑2 17 AcquisitionSuite 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↑5 18 Popup Coupon Generator for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↑2 1 too low 19 WPTypia Email Service Provider Connector for Newspack Newsletters with Listmonk — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too low 20 Earnware Connect 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↑2 6 too high 21 Amit Dholiya – Festival Popups — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↑2 22 StoreArmory Waitlist for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Sikshya LMS – LMS Course Builder, Online Courses & eLearning 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↑2 5 too high 24 PetrichorCraft Countdown Timer — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24

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.