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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “subject”

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 “subject”, 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

WP Edit Username shows at wp.org #12 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 5 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Download Manager places #9 on merit, 4.1★ from 1006 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.

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 WPvivid — Backup, Migration & Staging 900K+ · 4.9★ (1568) wp.org #2 3 Cart Abandonment Recovery for WooCommerce – Recover Lost Sales with Automated Emails 300K+ · 4.8★ (626) wp.org #3 4 Mail logging & Catcher 20K+ · 4.9★ (108) wp.org #4 5 WP Mail Logging 300K+ · 4.7★ (375) wp.org #5 6 VS Contact Form 6K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #6 7 GDPR 10K+ · 4.3★ (58) wp.org #7 8 SMTP Mailer 70K+ · 4.6★ (67) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Download Manager 100K+ · 4.1★ (1006) wp.org #16 7 too low 10 Email Marketing for WooCommerce by Omnisend 40K+ · 4.9★ (169) wp.org #15 5 too low 11 Email Log 80K+ · 4.2★ (43) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 Check & Log Email – Easy Email Testing & Mail logging 90K+ · 4.8★ (292) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 Payment Button for PayPal 4K+ · 4.5★ (40) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 Meow Mailer – Free SMTP, Everything Included 900+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #18 3 too low 16 Smart COD for WooCommerce 30K+ · 4.6★ (52) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 Newsletters, Email Marketing, SMS and Popups by Omnisend 100K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #13 4 too high 18 Easy Accept Payments via PayPal 6K+ · 4.5★ (34) wp.org #20 2 too low 19 Send Users Email – Email Subscribers, Email Marketing Newsletter 5K+ · 4.5★ (28) wp.org #19 20 WP Edit Username 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #12 8 too high 21 CryptX 10K+ · 4.5★ (20) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Email Address Obfuscation 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #14 8 too high 23 Zoho ZeptoMail 5K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 eRecht24 Legal Texts 50K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 2 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.