wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “subscriber plugin”
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 “subscriber plugin”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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
Subscribe2 – Form, Email Subscribers & Newsletters shows at wp.org #12 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 116 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Members – Membership & User Role Editor Plugin 300K+ · 4.9★ (1281)
wp.org #1 2 
Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514)
wp.org #3 ↑2 1 too low 3 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323)
wp.org #2 ↑2 1 too high 4 
MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435)
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167)
wp.org #5 ↑3 6 
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205)
wp.org #7 1 too low 7 
Smash Balloon Social Photo Feed – Easy Social Feeds Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4358)
wp.org #8 ↓2 1 too low 8 
Email Subscribers & Newsletters by Icegram Express – Email Marketing, Post Notifications & WooCommerce Marekting Automation for WordPress 50K+ · 4.6★ (1170)
wp.org #9 ↓8 1 too low 9 
Kit (formerly ConvertKit) – Email Newsletter, Email Marketing, Membership, Subscribers and Landing Pages 40K+ · 4.8★ (90)
wp.org #6 ↑1 3 too high 10 
CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes 200K+ · 4.7★ (326)
wp.org #10 ↑4 11 
WP-Members Membership Plugin 50K+ · 4.6★ (272)
wp.org #11 ↑8 12 
UsersWP – Front-end login form, User Registration, User Profile & Members Directory plugin for WP 20K+ · 4.7★ (183)
wp.org #13 ↓3 1 too low 13 
MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress 1M+ · 4.8★ (1497)
wp.org #15 ↓4 2 too low 14 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #14 ↓12 15 
Contact Form by BestWebSoft – Advanced WP Contact Form Builder for WordPress 30K+ · 4.0★ (292)
wp.org #16 ↓4 1 too low 16 
Feeds for YouTube (YouTube video, channel, and gallery plugin) 100K+ · 4.8★ (205)
wp.org #20 4 too low 17 
Back In Stock Notifier for WooCommerce | WooCommerce Waitlist Pro 20K+ · 4.7★ (122)
wp.org #18 ↑3 1 too low 18 Subscribe2 – Form, Email Subscribers & Newsletters 10K+ · 3.5★ (116)
wp.org #12 ↓3 6 too high 19 
Giveaways and Contests by RafflePress – Get More Website Traffic, Email Subscribers, and Social Followers 20K+ · 3.9★ (43)
wp.org #21 ↓4 2 too low 20 
Send Users Email – Email Subscribers, Email Marketing Newsletter 5K+ · 4.5★ (28)
wp.org #24 4 too low 21 
Subscriber by BestWebSoft 900+ · 4.6★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓1 2 too low 22 
Accept PayPal & Stripe with Subscriptions for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.8★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓6 23 
Mailster WordPress Newsletter Plugin 7K+ · 3.5★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #17 6 too high 24 
Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress 1M+ · 5.0★ (8) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↓4 5 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.