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

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 mail smtp”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 2 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

GoSMTP – SMTP for WordPress shows at wp.org #9 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 500K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Mail logging – WP Mail Catcher places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 107 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – The Most Popular SMTP and Email Log Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (5198) wp.org #1 2 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 600K+ · 4.8★ (405) wp.org #2 3 Post SMTP – Complete Email Deliverability and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (525) wp.org #3 4 Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (707) wp.org #4 5 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4953) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 WP SMTP Mailer – SMTP7 10K+ · 5.0★ (114) wp.org #6 7 SMTP Mailer 70K+ · 4.6★ (67) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 WP Mail Logging 300K+ · 4.7★ (368) wp.org #8 9 Mail logging – WP Mail Catcher 20K+ · 4.9★ (107) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1204) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 Gmail SMTP 10K+ · 4.1★ (103) wp.org #11 12 Solid Mail – SMTP email and logging made by SolidWP 60K+ · 4.2★ (52) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 YaySMTP – WP Mail SMTP with Email Logs, Tracking & Reports 10K+ · 4.9★ (45) wp.org #13 14 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4225) wp.org #24 ↓9 10 too low 15 Mail Mint – Email Marketing, Automation & WooCommerce Emails with AI Assistance 4K+ · 4.7★ (125) wp.org #18 ↑2 3 too low 16 Check & Log Email – Easy Email Testing & Mail logging 100K+ · 4.8★ (290) wp.org #19 3 too low 17 Meow Mailer – Free SMTP, Everything Included 700+ · 4.9★ (17) wp.org #15 ↑2 2 too high 18 SureMail – SMTP and Email Logs Plugin with Amazon SES, Postmark, and Other Providers 200K+ · 4.7★ (25) wp.org #21 3 too low 19 GoSMTP – SMTP for WordPress 500K+ · 4.3★ (10) wp.org #9 10 too high 20 Mail Queue 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #22 2 too low 21 Bit SMTP – Easy SMTP Solution with Email Logs 2K+ · 3.9★ (15) wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too high 22 SMTP for Amazon SES – YaySMTP 3K+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #23 ↑1 1 too low 23 Pro Mail SMTP 300+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #16 7 too high 24 SMTP for SendGrid – YaySMTP 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #20 ↑3 4 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.