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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “mailing”

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 “mailing”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Integration for listmonk mailing list and newsletter service shows at wp.org #2 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Popups – WordPress Popup builder places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 112 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 Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859) wp.org #1 ↑3 2 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #4 ↓3 2 too low 3 Affiliate Program Suite — SliceWP Affiliates 10K+ · 4.9★ (111) wp.org #3 4 Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) wp.org #6 ↑14 2 too low 5 Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215) wp.org #8 ↑3 3 too low 6 Genesis eNews Extended 40K+ · 4.7★ (28) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too low 8 Postie 10K+ · 4.7★ (139) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Events Made Easy 1K+ · 4.6★ (111) wp.org #9 ↓1 10 Wallet for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.7★ (188) wp.org #12 ↓2 2 too low 11 MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 WP Popups – WordPress Popup builder 30K+ · 4.9★ (112) wp.org #20 ↑3 8 too low 13 Hubbub Lite – Fast, free social sharing and follow buttons 30K+ · 4.7★ (173) wp.org #22 ↓6 9 too low 14 Database for Contact Form 7, WPforms, Elementor forms 60K+ · 4.8★ (124) wp.org #21 ↑3 7 too low 15 Related Posts Thumbnails 20K+ · 4.9★ (234) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 Newsletters 2K+ · 4.7★ (246) wp.org #24 ↓2 8 too low 17 Mailing Group Listserv 100+ · 4.0★ (25) wp.org #17 18 Constant Contact Forms 20K+ · 2.6★ (107) wp.org #14 ↓8 4 too high 19 Integration for listmonk mailing list and newsletter service 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 17 too high 20 Civist – Petitions and Fundraising 900+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress 1M+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #10 ↓1 11 too high 22 EO4WP: EmailOctopus for WordPress 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #19 ↑2 3 too high 23 Mailster Gravity Forms 800+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #15 8 too high 24 Acumbamail 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑2 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.