wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “sending”
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 “sending”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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
GoSMTP – SMTP for WordPress shows at wp.org #13 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 500K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
FluentCRM – Email Newsletter, Automation, Email Marketing, Email Campaigns, Optins, Leads, and CRM Solution places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 250 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.
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 #1 2 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #2 3 
MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) heavy footprint
wp.org #3 4 
Polylang 900K+ · 4.7★ (3003)
wp.org #4 ↑1 5 
Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539)
wp.org #8 3 too low 6 
WP Mail Logging 300K+ · 4.7★ (375)
wp.org #6 7 
Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (709)
wp.org #7 8 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too low 9 
Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186)
wp.org #9 ↑2 10 FluentCRM – Email Newsletter, Automation, Email Marketing, Email Campaigns, Optins, Leads, and CRM Solution 80K+ · 4.8★ (250)
wp.org #16 ↑1 6 too low 11 
WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 700K+ · 3.1★ (237) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement
wp.org #5 ↓1 6 too high 12 
Disable Emails 30K+ · 5.0★ (20) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too high 13 
Check & Log Email – Easy Email Testing & Mail logging 90K+ · 4.8★ (292) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too low 14 
Antispam Bee 700K+ · 4.8★ (226)
wp.org #19 5 too low 15 
WP Offload SES Lite 10K+ · 4.3★ (36)
wp.org #12 3 too high 16 
Change Admin Email 40K+ · 4.8★ (141)
wp.org #22 6 too low 17 
Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74)
wp.org #14 ↑1 3 too high 18 
SMTP Mailer 70K+ · 4.6★ (67)
wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too high 19 
Mail logging & Catcher 20K+ · 4.9★ (108)
wp.org #23 ↑1 4 too low 20 
Mailgun for WordPress 80K+ · 3.8★ (49)
wp.org #21 ↑2 1 too low 21 
Magic Login – Magic Link & Passwordless Authentication for WordPress – Login Without Password 3K+ · 4.8★ (26)
wp.org #24 ↓2 3 too low 22 
No Self Ping 10K+ · 4.5★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #20 2 too high 23 GoSMTP – SMTP for WordPress 500K+ · 4.3★ (10) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #13 10 too high 24 
Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress 1M+ · 5.0★ (8) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓2 6 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.