Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “send notice”

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 “send notice”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Smart Send shows at wp.org #4 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels places #11 on merit, 4.6★ from 838 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Cookie Compliance for WordPress – Cookie Consent, GDPR & CCPA 800K+ · 4.8★ (3026) wp.org #1 2 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 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 #6 3 too low 4 Send Emails with Mandrill 6K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 WPConsent – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for Privacy Compliance (GDPR / CCPA / EU Compliance Cookie Notice) 200K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too low 8 Admin Notices Manager 10K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 Cart Notices for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (41) wp.org #9 10 Germanized for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (496) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels 90K+ · 4.6★ (838) wp.org #21 ↓2 10 too low 12 Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) wp.org #18 6 too low 13 Cookiebot – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode 100K+ · 4.4★ (440) wp.org #19 ↑1 6 too low 14 Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358) wp.org #24 ↓3 10 too low 15 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 Smart Send 300+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #4 12 too high 17 Disable Comments 1M+ · 4.7★ (281) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 Tracking and Consent Manager – WP Full Picture 3K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 Connect Contact Form 7 to Mailchimp, Brevo, MailerLite, Klaviyo, GetResponse, EmailOctopus, Campaign Monitor & Moosend 40K+ · 4.3★ (190) wp.org #23 ↑1 4 too low 20 Legal Pages – Privacy Policy, Terms & Conditions, GDPR, CCPA, and Cookie Notice Generator 8K+ · 4.3★ (29) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 EU Consumer Rights for WooCommerce – Guarantee Notice, GARAN Label, Withdrawal Button, Right to Repair, Omnibus Price & GPSR 200+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #10 ↑1 11 too high 22 One Stop Shop for WooCommerce 10K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #14 8 too high 23 Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress 1M+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #20 ↑2 3 too high 24 Notice Vault – Hide, Manage & Organize Admin Notices 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 9 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.