wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “mailers”
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 “mailers”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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
GoSMTP – SMTP for WordPress shows at wp.org #8 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 500K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Temporary Login Without Password places #8 on merit, 5.0★ from 1549 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 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 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #2 3 
SMTP Mailer 70K+ · 4.6★ (67)
wp.org #3 4 
Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (709)
wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #6 ↑2 1 too low 6 
Meow Mailer – Free SMTP, Everything Included 900+ · 5.0★ (25)
wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too high 7 
WP SMTP Mailer – SMTP7 8K+ · 5.0★ (115)
wp.org #7 ↓1 8 Temporary Login Without Password 90K+ · 5.0★ (1549)
wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too low 9 
WPO365 | MICROSOFT 365 GRAPH MAILER 10K+ · 5.0★ (40)
wp.org #9 ↑1 10 
Email Subscribers & Newsletters by Icegram Express – Email Marketing, Post Notifications & WooCommerce Marekting Automation for WordPress 50K+ · 4.6★ (1170) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #12 ↑5 2 too low 11 
YaySMTP – WP Mail SMTP with Email Logs, Tracking & Reports 10K+ · 4.9★ (45)
wp.org #11 12 
Email Templates Customizer and Designer for WordPress and WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (133)
wp.org #17 ↓2 5 too low 13 
Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels 90K+ · 4.6★ (838) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #19 6 too low 14 
Stop WP Emails Going to Spam 10K+ · 4.8★ (51) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too high 15 
WPMasterToolKit (WPMTK) – All in one plugin 5K+ · 5.0★ (28)
wp.org #18 3 too low 16 
Icegram Mailer – Reliable Email Deliverability, No-Code SMTP Replacement & Email Logs for WordPress 2K+ · 4.9★ (16) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↓1 6 too high 17 
bbPress Notify (No-Spam) 2K+ · 4.8★ (40)
wp.org #24 ↓2 7 too low 18 
Payment Button for PayPal 4K+ · 4.5★ (40)
wp.org #20 2 too low 19 GoSMTP – SMTP for WordPress 500K+ · 4.3★ (10) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↓1 11 too high 20 
Email Deliverability – SMTP Replacement, Email API Deliverability & Email Log 200K+ · 2.5★ (17) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↑1 3 too low 21 
Pinny’s Simple SMTP – Lightweight SMTP Mailer 100+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #21 22 
Mailer Dragon – Email Marketing Plugin for WordPress 200+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓1 8 too high 23 
Oderland SMTP & Postal Mailer 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #16 7 too high 24 A API Mailer for AWS SES 20+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #22 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.