wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “sendgrid widget”
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 widget”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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
AI Marketing Expert — AI Email Marketing, AI Content Generator, SEO Analyzer, AI Workflow Automation, Social Media & Ai Chatbot shows at wp.org #13 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 2K+ 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.
WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5210)
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 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #3 4 
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205)
wp.org #4 5 
Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (709)
wp.org #5 6 
Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859)
wp.org #6 7 
Email Subscribers & Newsletters by Icegram Express – Email Marketing, Post Notifications & WooCommerce Marekting Automation for WordPress 50K+ · 4.6★ (1170)
wp.org #8 1 too low 8 
MailOptin – Popup, Optin Forms & Email Newsletters for Mailchimp, HubSpot, AWeber Etc. 10K+ · 4.8★ (438)
wp.org #10 2 too low 9 
Contact Form by Supsystic – Drag & Drop Form Builder with Templates & Form Statistics 6K+ · 4.7★ (92)
wp.org #7 2 too high 10 
FluentCRM – Email Newsletter, Automation, Email Marketing, Email Campaigns, Optins, Leads, and CRM Solution 80K+ · 4.8★ (250)
wp.org #11 1 too low 11 
YaySMTP – WP Mail SMTP with Email Logs, Tracking & Reports 10K+ · 4.9★ (45)
wp.org #9 2 too high 12 
Brave – Create Popup, Optins, Lead Generation, Survey, Sticky Elements & Interactive Content 20K+ · 4.8★ (209)
wp.org #15 3 too low 13 
Noptin – Newsletter, New Post Notifications & Email Automation 10K+ · 4.5★ (120)
wp.org #14 1 too low 14 
WPMasterToolKit (WPMTK) – All in one plugin 5K+ · 5.0★ (28)
wp.org #16 2 too low 15 
WP EXtra – One Click Optimize 6K+ · 4.9★ (41)
wp.org #18 3 too low 16 
Popup Builder by Claspo – Email Popup, Spin the Wheel, Exit Intent 1K+ · 5.0★ (40)
wp.org #20 4 too low 17 
Infinity23 (Formerly Tag Manager) – One Plugin That Replaces All The Rest 20K+ · 4.7★ (53)
wp.org #24 7 too low 18 
Coupzy Coupon Box for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.6★ (37)
wp.org #22 4 too low 19 
MailerPress – Email Marketing, Newsletter, Email Automation & WooCommerce Emails 1K+ · 5.0★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #19 20 
Nexter Extension – Security, Performance, Code Snippets & Site Toolkit 10K+ · 4.7★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #21 1 too low 21 
Bit SMTP – Easy SMTP Solution with Email Logs 2K+ · 3.9★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #17 4 too high 22 
Connect SendGrid for Emails 800+ · 5.0★ (2) closure risk thin reviews
wp.org #12 10 too high 23 
FlyWP Helper – Page Cache, Page Optimization, Emails for FlyWP Server Control Panel 4K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #23 24 AI Marketing Expert — AI Email Marketing, AI Content Generator, SEO Analyzer, AI Workflow Automation, Social Media & Ai Chatbot 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #13 11 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.