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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “mail logger”

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 logger”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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 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

Shipping Live Rates for Royal Mail for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #5 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Notification – Custom Notifications and Alerts for WordPress places #10 on merit, 4.6★ from 124 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Mail Logging 300K+ · 4.7★ (375) wp.org #1 2 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #2 3 Mail logging & Catcher 20K+ · 4.9★ (108) wp.org #3 4 WP Mail Log 10K+ · 4.9★ (66) wp.org #4 5 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #9 ↓3 4 too low 6 Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053) wp.org #14 ↑2 8 too low 7 Solid Mail – SMTP email and logging made by SolidWP 60K+ · 4.2★ (52) wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too low 8 SMTP Mailer 70K+ · 4.6★ (67) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 Sticky Notes for WP Dashboard 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #6 ↑1 3 too high 10 Notification – Custom Notifications and Alerts for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (124) wp.org #20 ↑1 10 too low 11 Gmail SMTP 10K+ · 4.1★ (103) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too low 12 Shipping Live Rates and Access Points for UPS for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.7★ (77) wp.org #21 ↑1 9 too low 13 WC Multiple Email Recipients 4K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 Connect Matomo – Analytics Dashboard for WordPress 60K+ · 4.5★ (95) wp.org #18 ↑2 4 too low 15 Flexible PDF Coupons – Gift Cards & Vouchers for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.7★ (31) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 Shipping Live Rates for Royal Mail for WooCommerce 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 11 too high 17 Custom SMTP: Email Deliverability – FREE & Easy-to-use 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↑1 10 too high 18 0 Day Analytics 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 I Icode Mail Logger — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 7 too high 20 MailArchiver 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↑1 2 too low 21 AHA Mail SMTP 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↑2 6 too high 22 Conobe Mail Logger — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↑2 5 too high 23 M Mail Logger for WordPress 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 10 too high 24 Jadav Mail Activity Logger — · 0.0★ (0) 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.