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

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 protocol”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

SMTP for Contact Form 7 shows at wp.org #6 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 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 ↑1 2 Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (709) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 Gmail SMTP 10K+ · 4.1★ (103) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too high 4 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 Login for Google Apps by WPAuth 10K+ · 4.6★ (64) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Configure SMTP 6K+ · 4.9★ (45) wp.org #18 ↓2 12 too low 7 GoSMTP – SMTP for WordPress 500K+ · 4.3★ (10) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 SMTP.com 80+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #8 ↑1 9 Simple SMTP by Maileroo 800+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #9 ↓1 10 DoubleScale CRM | All-in-One CRM – Sales, Multi-Channel Marketing, Newsletter, Booking, Helpdesk, Automation, MCP & More 80+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too low 11 Easy Video Reviews – Testimonial Grid & Social Proof 100+ · 3.8★ (10) wp.org #17 6 too low 12 TrackSure Cloud – Server-Side Tracking, Meta CAPI & GA4 for WooCommerce 70+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 Mail Baby SMTP 500+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too high 14 SMTP for Contact Form 7 1K+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #6 8 too high 15 AI Marketing Expert — AI Email Marketing, AI Content Generator, SEO Analyzer, AI Workflow Automation, Social Media & Ai Chatbot 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 Login with Cognito 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too high 17 Authority Mailer SMTP – WordPress SMTP Plugin with Email Logs 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 Emerge Mail – SMTP, Newsletters & Email Marketing 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓3 4 too high 19 Stars SMTP Mailer 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too low 20 NimblyMail SMTP – SMTP, Gmail, Outlook & Amazon SES Email Log and Deliverability Plugin — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 too low 21 Zaplane – AI Agent Automation & Workflow Builder — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 SignEmail SMTP & DNS Diagnostic — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2 2 too low 23 NovoForms – Advanced Contact Form Builder — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 4 too high 24 Frumbik SMTP — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 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.