wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “html email”
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 “html email”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20. 4 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
Email Log shows at wp.org #8 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 80K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 43 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy places #12 on merit, 5.0★ from 4625 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.
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 
Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses and Phone Numbers 90K+ · 4.9★ (94)
wp.org #2 ↑2 3 
Email Template Designer – WP HTML Mail 20K+ · 4.8★ (87)
wp.org #3 4 
Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer 90K+ · 4.5★ (142)
wp.org #4 ↑4 5 
HTML Forms – Simple WordPress Forms Plugin 10K+ · 4.9★ (57)
wp.org #5 ↑4 6 
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #6 7 
Email Templates Customizer and Designer for WordPress and WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (133)
wp.org #7 8 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #9 ↑1 1 too low 9 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #11 ↓6 2 too low 10 
Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701)
wp.org #14 4 too low 11 
FluentCRM – Email Newsletter, Automation, Email Marketing, Email Campaigns, Optins, Leads, and CRM Solution 80K+ · 4.8★ (250)
wp.org #13 ↑2 2 too low 12 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625)
wp.org #19 7 too low 13 
Email Address Encoder 100K+ · 4.2★ (160)
wp.org #10 ↓4 3 too high 14 
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 #12 ↓10 2 too high 15 Email Log 80K+ · 4.2★ (43)
wp.org #8 ↑3 7 too high 16 
YayMail – WooCommerce Email Customizer 50K+ · 4.8★ (291)
wp.org #18 2 too low 17 
Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859)
wp.org #23 6 too low 18 
Minify HTML 10K+ · 4.7★ (33)
wp.org #16 ↓4 2 too high 19 
Contact Form Email 8K+ · 4.3★ (102) not PHP-current
wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too low 20 
Send Users Email – Email Subscribers, Email Marketing Newsletter 5K+ · 4.5★ (28)
wp.org #20 ↓3 21 
Email Customizer for WooCommerce | Drag and Drop Email Templates Builder 9K+ · 4.3★ (44) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 
Email Addon for Contact Form 7 3K+ · 4.6★ (9) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↓2 7 too high 23 
Two Factor (2FA) Authentication via Email 9K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 
Email Address Obfuscation 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #22 2 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.