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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “sendgrid smtp”

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 “sendgrid smtp”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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 for SendGrid – YaySMTP shows at wp.org #5 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation places #11 on merit, 4.4★ from 1432 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 600K+ · 4.8★ (405) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – The Most Popular SMTP and Email Log Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (5198) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Post SMTP – Complete Email Deliverability and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (525) wp.org #3 4 Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (707) wp.org #4 5 Solid Mail – SMTP email and logging made by SolidWP 60K+ · 4.2★ (52) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 SureMail – SMTP and Email Logs Plugin with Amazon SES, Postmark, and Other Providers 200K+ · 4.7★ (25) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1204) wp.org #14 7 too low 8 YaySMTP – WP Mail SMTP with Email Logs, Tracking & Reports 10K+ · 4.9★ (45) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 SAR Friendly SMTP 2K+ · 4.6★ (46) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Meow Mailer – Free SMTP, Everything Included 700+ · 4.9★ (17) wp.org #10 11 MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1432) wp.org #22 ↓1 11 too low 12 Email Subscribers & Newsletters – Email Marketing, Post Notifications & Newsletter Plugin for WordPress 50K+ · 4.6★ (1169) wp.org #23 11 too low 13 GoSMTP – SMTP for WordPress 500K+ · 4.3★ (10) wp.org #6 7 too high 14 Bit SMTP – Easy SMTP Solution with Email Logs 2K+ · 3.9★ (15) wp.org #9 5 too high 15 SMTP for SendGrid – YaySMTP 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 10 too high 16 Simple SMTP by Maileroo 700+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 Pro Mail SMTP 300+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #16 ↑1 1 too high 18 Smooth SMTP 100+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 SMTP Mail Control for MailPoet 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too low 20 Pinny’s Simple SMTP – Lightweight SMTP Mailer 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↑1 5 too high 21 King SMTP – Email Log & Delivery 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Custom SMTP: Email Deliverability – FREE & Easy-to-use 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓2 5 too high 23 Mesh SMTP – Easy WordPress SMTP & Email Delivery 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↑1 5 too high 24 Mail Baby SMTP 600+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24

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.