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

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 “smtp log”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 2 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 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 #5 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 9 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

WP Mail Logging places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 375 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 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 Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #3 4 Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (709) wp.org #4 5 Solid Mail – SMTP email and logging made by SolidWP 60K+ · 4.2★ (52) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Check & Log Email – Easy Email Testing & Mail logging 90K+ · 4.8★ (292) wp.org #12 ↓1 6 too low 7 YaySMTP – WP Mail SMTP with Email Logs, Tracking & Reports 10K+ · 4.9★ (45) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 SureMail – SMTP and Email Logs Plugin with Amazon SES, Postmark, and Other Providers 200K+ · 4.7★ (25) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) wp.org #20 ↓1 11 too low 10 WP Mail Logging 300K+ · 4.7★ (375) wp.org #23 13 too low 11 Log Emails 6K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 SAR Friendly SMTP 2K+ · 4.6★ (46) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too low 13 Meow Mailer – Free SMTP, Everything Included 900+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too low 14 GoSMTP – SMTP for WordPress 500K+ · 4.3★ (10) wp.org #5 9 too high 15 Bit SMTP – Easy SMTP Solution with Email Logs 2K+ · 3.9★ (15) wp.org #10 5 too high 16 Icegram Mailer – Reliable Email Deliverability, No-Code SMTP Replacement & Email Logs for WordPress 2K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 SMTP for Amazon SES – YaySMTP 3K+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 SmartSMTP 2K+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #11 ↑3 7 too high 19 SMTP for SendGrid – YaySMTP 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too high 20 Email Deliverability – SMTP Replacement, Email API Deliverability & Email Log 200K+ · 2.5★ (17) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 Pinny’s Simple SMTP – Lightweight SMTP Mailer 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 22 Custom SMTP: Email Deliverability – FREE & Easy-to-use 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too high 23 Wonderful SMTP Mailer and Log 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 SMTP for Contact Form 7 1K+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↓1 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.