Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “subscribe email”

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 “subscribe email”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 4 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

Easy Subscribe shows at wp.org #5 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 1K+ 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.

Buried gem

Mail Mint – Email Marketing, Automation & WooCommerce Emails with AI Assistance places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 125 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) wp.org #1 2 Subscribe Forms – Beautiful Email Forms, Embedded Newsletter Forms & MailChimp Form 2K+ · 4.7★ (60) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) wp.org #4 ↓2 1 too low 4 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #8 ↑1 4 too low 5 FluentCRM – Email Newsletter, Automation, Email Marketing, Email Campaigns, Optins, Leads, and CRM Solution 80K+ · 4.8★ (250) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Email Subscribers & Newsletters by Icegram Express – Email Marketing, Post Notifications & WooCommerce Marekting Automation for WordPress 50K+ · 4.6★ (1170) wp.org #6 7 S Subscribe to Comments 10K+ · 3.9★ (14) wp.org #2 ↑1 5 too high 8 MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress 1M+ · 4.8★ (1497) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 Kit (formerly ConvertKit) – Email Newsletter, Email Marketing, Membership, Subscribers and Landing Pages 40K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #17 8 too low 10 Download After Email – Subscribe & Download Form Plugin 7K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #10 11 Mail Mint – Email Marketing, Automation & WooCommerce Emails with AI Assistance 4K+ · 4.7★ (125) wp.org #21 10 too low 12 MailChimp Subscribe Form, Optin Builder, PopUp Builder, Form Builder 2K+ · 4.0★ (65) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 Noptin – Newsletter, New Post Notifications & Email Automation 10K+ · 4.5★ (120) wp.org #15 2 too low 14 Comment Reply Email Notification 3K+ · 4.8★ (33) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 MC4WP: Mailchimp Top Bar – Email Subscribe Notification Bar 6K+ · 4.6★ (31) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 Email Subscription Popup — Newsletter & GDPR Consent 1K+ · 3.8★ (11) wp.org #9 ↓1 7 too high 17 Subscribe To Comments Checkbox 100+ · 4.9★ (9) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 Subscribe2 – Form, Email Subscribers & Newsletters 10K+ · 3.5★ (116) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 Mailchimp List Subscribe Form 60K+ · 2.6★ (77) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 Mailjet Email Marketing 10K+ · 3.2★ (45) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 Subscribe to Unlock Lite – Opt In Content Locker Plugin for WordPress 500+ · 3.9★ (10) wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too high 22 Easy Subscribe 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 17 too high 23 Subscribe to Download Lite – Email Before Download Plugin 400+ · 3.0★ (4) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too high 24 Benchmark Email Lite 1K+ · 4.0★ (3) 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.