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

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 “phpmailer”, 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

SMTP Mail Control for MailPoet shows at wp.org #11 but places #18 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

Pinpoint Booking System – Legacy version places #9 on merit, 3.6★ from 185 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 SMTP Mailer 70K+ · 4.6★ (67) wp.org #1 2 SMTP2GO for WordPress – Email Made Easy 40K+ · 5.0★ (67) wp.org #2 3 WPO365 | MICROSOFT 365 GRAPH MAILER 10K+ · 5.0★ (40) wp.org #3 4 Stop WP Emails Going to Spam 10K+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #4 5 WP SMTP Mailer – SMTP7 8K+ · 5.0★ (115) wp.org #10 ↑1 5 too low 6 SAR Friendly SMTP 2K+ · 4.6★ (46) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7 Zoho Mail for WordPress 20K+ · 3.7★ (42) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Gmail SMTP 10K+ · 4.1★ (103) wp.org #12 ↓2 4 too low 9 Pinpoint Booking System – Legacy version 2K+ · 3.6★ (185) wp.org #16 7 too low 10 Zoho ZeptoMail 5K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #5 5 too high 11 Email Auth – DKIM, SPF, DMARC, Bounce Address, From Address 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #7 ↑1 4 too high 12 Send Emails with Resend 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 ↓2 3 too high 13 phpinfo() WP – Site Health, PHP Compatibility & Server Audit 3K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #17 ↓2 4 too low 14 GD Mail Queue 700+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #20 ↓3 6 too low 15 Simple SMTP by Maileroo 800+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too high 16 Display wp_mail Error Messages 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 MailerSend – Official SMTP Integration 2K+ · 2.8★ (12) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 SMTP Mail Control for MailPoet 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 ↑2 7 too high 19 SMTP.com 80+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #19 20 Actra SMTP 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↓2 2 too high 21 Custom SMTP: Email Deliverability – FREE & Easy-to-use 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 BeepMate – Forms to your messaging app 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓3 1 too low 23 A API Mailer for AWS SES 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 SMTP for Contact Form 7 1K+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓3 3 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.