wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wordpress emails”
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 “wordpress emails”, 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
Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress shows at wp.org #15 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 1M+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435)
wp.org #1 ↑2 2 
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 #2 ↓1 3 
MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157)
wp.org #3 ↓1 4 
Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #4 5 
TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625)
wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too low 6 
Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859)
wp.org #5 1 too high 7 
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205)
wp.org #7 ↑4 8 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #8 ↓2 9 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too low 10 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #14 4 too low 11 
Customize WordPress Emails and Alerts – Better Notifications for WP 30K+ · 4.8★ (184)
wp.org #10 ↓2 1 too high 12 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323)
wp.org #12 ↑1 13 
Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701)
wp.org #18 ↑2 5 too low 14 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too high 15 
FluentCRM – Email Newsletter, Automation, Email Marketing, Email Campaigns, Optins, Leads, and CRM Solution 80K+ · 4.8★ (250)
wp.org #17 2 too low 16 
Disable Emails 30K+ · 5.0★ (20) thin reviews
wp.org #9 7 too high 17 
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4229)
wp.org #24 7 too low 18 
MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress 1M+ · 4.8★ (1497)
wp.org #22 ↓3 4 too low 19 
Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186)
wp.org #21 2 too low 20 
Email Templates Customizer and Designer for WordPress and WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.6★ (133)
wp.org #19 ↑5 1 too high 21 
SMTP2GO for WordPress – Email Made Easy 40K+ · 5.0★ (67)
wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too high 22 
Log Emails 6K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #16 6 too high 23 
Send Emails with Mandrill 6K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #23 24 Hostinger Reach – AI-Powered Email Marketing for WordPress 1M+ · 5.0★ (8) host-installed base thin reviews
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.