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

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 server”, 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

SMTP for Contact Form 7 shows at wp.org #15 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress places #11 on merit, 4.6★ from 1205 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. 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 SMTP Mailer 70K+ · 4.6★ (67) wp.org #5 6 WP SMTP Mailer – SMTP7 8K+ · 5.0★ (115) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Gmail SMTP 10K+ · 4.1★ (103) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 SAR Friendly SMTP 2K+ · 4.6★ (46) wp.org #8 9 Solid Mail – SMTP email and logging made by SolidWP 60K+ · 4.2★ (52) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 YaySMTP – WP Mail SMTP with Email Logs, Tracking & Reports 10K+ · 4.9★ (45) wp.org #16 6 too low 11 Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) wp.org #18 7 too low 12 SureMail – SMTP and Email Logs Plugin with Amazon SES, Postmark, and Other Providers 200K+ · 4.7★ (25) wp.org #14 ↓3 2 too low 13 Meow Mailer – Free SMTP, Everything Included 900+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 SMTP for Amazon SES – YaySMTP 3K+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too high 15 Bit SMTP – Easy SMTP Solution with Email Logs 2K+ · 3.9★ (15) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 GoSMTP – SMTP for WordPress 500K+ · 4.3★ (10) wp.org #9 7 too high 17 SmartSMTP 2K+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #11 ↑2 6 too high 18 Pro Mail SMTP 300+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #21 ↓2 3 too low 19 Simple SMTP by Maileroo 800+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 ↓5 3 too low 20 MailerSend – Official SMTP Integration 2K+ · 2.8★ (12) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too high 21 Pinny’s Simple SMTP – Lightweight SMTP Mailer 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↓1 2 too low 22 Custom SMTP: Email Deliverability – FREE & Easy-to-use 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↑4 5 too high 23 Oderland SMTP & Postal Mailer 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 SMTP for Contact Form 7 1K+ · 4.0★ (2) 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.