wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “mail capture”
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 “mail capture”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20.
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
Auto Mail – Abandoned Cart Recovery, Newsletter Builder & Marketing Automation for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #6 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 20+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder places #5 on merit, 4.9★ from 4514 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #1 2 
Mail Mint – Email Marketing, Automation & WooCommerce Emails with AI Assistance 4K+ · 4.7★ (125)
wp.org #2 3 
Database Addon for Contact Form 7 – CFDB7 600K+ · 5.0★ (1875)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
Cart Abandonment Recovery for WooCommerce – Recover Lost Sales with Automated Emails 300K+ · 4.8★ (626)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514)
wp.org #10 ↑1 5 too low 6 
UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP 20K+ · 4.7★ (183)
wp.org #7 1 too low 7 
Email Marketing Plugin – WP Email Capture 1K+ · 4.3★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #3 4 too high 8 
FluentCRM – Email Newsletter, Automation, Email Marketing, Email Campaigns, Optins, Leads, and CRM Solution 80K+ · 4.8★ (250)
wp.org #12 ↑5 4 too low 9 
CartBounty – Save and recover abandoned carts for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (84)
wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too low 10 
Meow Mailer – Free SMTP, Everything Included 900+ · 5.0★ (26)
wp.org #9 1 too high 11 
Back In Stock Notifier for WooCommerce | WooCommerce Waitlist Pro 20K+ · 4.7★ (122)
wp.org #15 ↑3 4 too low 12 
Jetpack CRM – Clients, Leads, Invoices, Billing, Email Marketing, & Automation 30K+ · 4.3★ (152)
wp.org #14 2 too low 13 
Email Subscribers & Newsletters by Icegram Express – Email Marketing, Post Notifications & WooCommerce Marekting Automation for WordPress 50K+ · 4.6★ (1170)
wp.org #24 11 too low 14 
Iptanus File Upload 10K+ · 4.4★ (117)
wp.org #18 ↓2 4 too low 15 
Form Vibes – Save Contact Form 7 & Elementor Form Entries to Database 10K+ · 4.9★ (132)
wp.org #23 8 too low 16 
WP Change Email Sender 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↓1 5 too high 17 
WPMasterToolKit (WPMTK) – All in one plugin 5K+ · 5.0★ (28)
wp.org #22 5 too low 18 
GD Mail Queue 700+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #20 2 too low 19 
Zoho CRM Lead Magnet 3K+ · 3.1★ (25)
wp.org #19 20 
SendForce Mail SMTP Relay – SMTP and Email API 10+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #8 12 too high 21 
Newsletter Subscription Form – User Subscriptions Form, Capture Email 1K+ · 4.3★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↓4 4 too high 22 Auto Mail – Abandoned Cart Recovery, Newsletter Builder & Marketing Automation for WooCommerce 20+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #6 16 too high 23 
LabelGrid Tools 50+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #21 2 too high 24 
Mail Manager for WPForms ( wpforms entries ) – Database for wpforms 10+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓1 8 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.