wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “html emails”
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 emails”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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
Log Emails shows at wp.org #8 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 6K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 11 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups places #12 on merit, 4.4★ from 859 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. 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 Template Designer – WP HTML Mail 20K+ · 4.8★ (87)
wp.org #2 ↓1 3 
HTML Forms – Simple WordPress Forms Plugin 10K+ · 4.9★ (57)
wp.org #3 ↓1 4 
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #4 5 
Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701)
wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #5 ↓2 1 too high 7 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #6 ↓2 1 too high 8 
FluentCRM – Email Newsletter, Automation, Email Marketing, Email Campaigns, Optins, Leads, and CRM Solution 80K+ · 4.8★ (250)
wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too low 9 
TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625)
wp.org #15 6 too low 10 
YayMail – WooCommerce Email Customizer 50K+ · 4.8★ (291)
wp.org #12 ↓5 2 too low 11 
Email Encoder – Protect Email Addresses and Phone Numbers 90K+ · 4.9★ (94)
wp.org #13 ↓2 2 too low 12 Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859)
wp.org #20 ↓2 8 too low 13 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #23 ↓3 10 too low 14 
Minify HTML 10K+ · 4.7★ (33)
wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too high 15 
Preview E-mails for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.9★ (85)
wp.org #17 ↓3 2 too low 16 
Sender – Newsletter, SMS and Email Marketing Automation for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.8★ (83)
wp.org #16 ↓3 17 
Kadence WooCommerce Email Designer 90K+ · 4.5★ (142)
wp.org #19 ↓3 2 too low 18 
Customer Email Verification for WooCommerce 8K+ · 4.8★ (47)
wp.org #14 ↓2 4 too high 19 Log Emails 6K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↓3 11 too high 20 
Send Emails with Mandrill 6K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↓1 9 too high 21 A Allow HTML in Category Descriptions 8K+ · 5.0★ (41)
wp.org #21 ↓4 22 
CSV to HTML 300+ · 5.0★ (22) heavy footprint thin reviews
wp.org #24 ↓3 2 too low 23 
Additional Custom Emails & Recipients for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (18) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓3 5 too high 24 
AI to Elementor — HTML Importer for Elementor 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓3 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.