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

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

Google for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #6 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 800K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.7★ average from 267 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Admin Custom Login places #12 on merit, 4.6★ from 388 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 600K+ · 4.8★ (405) wp.org #1 2 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – The Most Popular SMTP and Email Log Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (5198) wp.org #2 3 Post SMTP – Complete Email Deliverability and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (525) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Gmail SMTP 10K+ · 4.1★ (103) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (707) wp.org #5 6 WP Mail Logging 300K+ · 4.7★ (368) wp.org #14 ↓2 8 too low 7 WP SMTP Mailer – SMTP7 10K+ · 5.0★ (114) wp.org #13 ↑1 6 too low 8 AddToAny Share Buttons 300K+ · 4.7★ (1115) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 SureMail – SMTP and Email Logs Plugin with Amazon SES, Postmark, and Other Providers 200K+ · 4.7★ (25) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Check & Log Email – Easy Email Testing & Mail logging 100K+ · 4.8★ (290) wp.org #10 11 Google Authenticator 20K+ · 4.3★ (135) wp.org #16 5 too low 12 Admin Custom Login 20K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #22 10 too low 13 Meow Mailer – Free SMTP, Everything Included 700+ · 4.9★ (17) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 YaySMTP – WP Mail SMTP with Email Logs, Tracking & Reports 10K+ · 4.9★ (45) wp.org #15 1 too low 15 WP Offload SES Lite 10K+ · 4.3★ (36) wp.org #12 ↑1 3 too high 16 CartFlows – Funnel Builder & Checkout Plugin for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.8★ (508) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 Email Subscribers & Newsletters – Email Marketing, Post Notifications & Newsletter Plugin for WordPress 50K+ · 4.6★ (1169) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Google for WooCommerce 800K+ · 2.7★ (267) wp.org #6 12 too high 19 Payment Button for PayPal 4K+ · 4.5★ (40) wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too low 20 GoSMTP – SMTP for WordPress 500K+ · 4.3★ (10) wp.org #8 12 too high 21 Login Widget With Shortcode 5K+ · 3.8★ (29) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 Bit SMTP – Easy SMTP Solution with Email Logs 2K+ · 3.9★ (15) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too high 23 SMTP Mail Control for MailPoet 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 SMTP for Contact Form 7 1K+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #18 6 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.