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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “mail 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 “mail logging”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

SMTP Mail Control for MailPoet shows at wp.org #13 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress places #11 on merit, 4.6★ from 1204 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. 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 SMTP by WPForms – The Most Popular SMTP and Email Log Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (5198) wp.org #1 2 WP Mail Logging 300K+ · 4.7★ (368) wp.org #2 3 Mail logging – WP Mail Catcher 20K+ · 4.9★ (107) wp.org #3 4 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 600K+ · 4.8★ (405) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5006) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Check & Log Email – Easy Email Testing & Mail logging 100K+ · 4.8★ (290) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7 Post SMTP – Complete Email Deliverability and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (525) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (488) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 Solid Mail – SMTP email and logging made by SolidWP 60K+ · 4.2★ (52) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (707) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too low 11 Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1204) wp.org #18 ↓1 7 too low 12 Ultimate WP Mail 700+ · 4.5★ (20) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (353) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 GSheetConnector – CF7 Google Sheets Connector & Save CF7 Entries to Database 40K+ · 4.4★ (129) wp.org #16 ↓1 2 too low 15 SureMail – SMTP and Email Logs Plugin with Amazon SES, Postmark, and Other Providers 200K+ · 4.7★ (25) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too low 16 Meow Mailer – Free SMTP, Everything Included 700+ · 4.9★ (17) wp.org #19 3 too low 17 Pro Mail SMTP 300+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #11 ↓1 6 too high 18 GoSMTP – SMTP for WordPress 500K+ · 4.3★ (10) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too high 19 WP Email Log – PostBox 600+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too high 20 SMTP Mail Control for MailPoet 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 ↓1 7 too high 21 SendForce Mail SMTP Relay – SMTP and Email API 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 22 Mail Baby SMTP 600+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 23 Bentostudio Mail 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Oderland SMTP & Postal Mailer 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 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.