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

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

Mailster Gmail Integration shows at wp.org #6 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Email Subscribers & Newsletters by Icegram Express – Email Marketing, Post Notifications & WooCommerce Marekting Automation for WordPress places #12 on merit, 4.6★ from 1170 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 signals wp.org

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 #1 2

FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #2 3

Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (709) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4

Gmail SMTP 10K+ · 4.1★ (103) wp.org #3 1 too high 5

Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #5 ↓1 6

Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #10 ↑2 4 too low 7

CartFlows – Funnel Builder & Checkout Plugin for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.8★ (517) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too low 8

WP SMTP Mailer – SMTP7 8K+ · 5.0★ (115) 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 #8 ↑1 1 too high 10

YaySMTP – WP Mail SMTP with Email Logs, Tracking & Reports 10K+ · 4.9★ (45) wp.org #13 ↓3 3 too low 11

Meow Mailer – Free SMTP, Everything Included 900+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #12 ↑1 1 too low 12

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 ↑1 7 too low 13

OttoKit: All-in-One Automation Platform 90K+ · 4.9★ (125) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #16 2 too low 15

Easy Appointment Booking & Scheduling Plugin – Webba Booking Calendar 2K+ · 4.9★ (159) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #21 ↑2 6 too low 16

Google for WooCommerce 800K+ · 2.7★ (268) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #7 9 too high 17

SureContact – Newsletters, Email Marketing, Automation, Revenue Tracking & CRM 10K+ · 4.8★ (21) thin reviews wp.org #18 1 too low 18

Album Gallery for Flickr 4K+ · 3.9★ (86) wp.org #22 ↑2 4 too low 19

Bit SMTP – Easy SMTP Solution with Email Logs 2K+ · 3.9★ (15) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #15 4 too high 20

Nexter Extension – Security, Performance, Code Snippets & Site Toolkit 10K+ · 4.7★ (13) heavy footprint thin reviews wp.org #24 4 too low 21

Bit CRM: Sales CRM Manage Lead, Contact, Deal, Invoice, Client Portal & Collect Payment 300+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too high 22

AI Marketing Expert — AI Email Marketing, AI Content Generator, SEO Analyzer, AI Workflow Automation, Social Media & Ai Chatbot 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #23 1 too low 23

SMTP for Contact Form 7 1K+ · 4.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #14 9 too high 24

Mailster Gmail Integration 1K+ · 1.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #6 18 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.