wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “logging”
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 “logging”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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
Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents shows at wp.org #12 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 30K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.9★ average from 16 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 2470 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
WP Mail Logging 300K+ · 4.7★ (375)
wp.org #1 2 
Mail logging & Catcher 20K+ · 4.9★ (108)
wp.org #2 3 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) heavy footprint
wp.org #3 4 
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 #5 1 too low 5 
Check & Log Email – Easy Email Testing & Mail logging 90K+ · 4.8★ (292) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #4 1 too high 6 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #6 ↑1 7 
WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (490)
wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too low 8 
Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) not PHP-current
wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too high 9 
Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491)
wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too low 10 WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470)
wp.org #15 ↓2 5 too low 11 
Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703)
wp.org #10 ↑1 1 too high 12 
CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3236)
wp.org #16 ↑1 4 too low 13 
Solid Mail – SMTP email and logging made by SolidWP 60K+ · 4.2★ (52)
wp.org #8 ↑1 5 too high 14 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #13 ↑2 1 too high 15 
404 to 301 – Redirect Manager, 301 Redirection, 404 Error Logs & 404 Monitoring 100K+ · 4.7★ (321)
wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too low 16 
Easy Updates Manager 300K+ · 4.8★ (726)
wp.org #21 ↑2 5 too low 17 
Redis Object Cache 500K+ · 4.5★ (179)
wp.org #14 ↓4 3 too high 18 
ManageWP Worker 1M+ · 4.6★ (679)
wp.org #17 ↓1 1 too high 19 
Stop User Enumeration 60K+ · 4.9★ (132)
wp.org #22 3 too low 20 
Security Ninja – WordPress Security & Firewall 7K+ · 4.7★ (101)
wp.org #19 1 too high 21 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↑2 9 too high 22 W WP Photo Album Plus 10K+ · 4.7★ (199) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #24 2 too low 23 
Sentry for WordPress 10K+ · 4.9★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #20 3 too high 24 
Log Emails 6K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↑1 1 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.