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

SMTP for SendGrid – YaySMTP shows at wp.org #13 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Database Addon for Contact Form 7 – CFDB7 places #8 on merit, 5.0★ from 1875 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. 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 ↑1 5 WP Mail Logging 300K+ · 4.7★ (368) wp.org #5 ↓1 6 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4225) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 WP SMTP Mailer – SMTP7 10K+ · 5.0★ (114) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Database Addon for Contact Form 7 – CFDB7 600K+ · 5.0★ (1875) wp.org #15 7 too low 9 YaySMTP – WP Mail SMTP with Email Logs, Tracking & Reports 10K+ · 4.9★ (45) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 Mail logging – WP Mail Catcher 20K+ · 4.9★ (107) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 Gmail SMTP 10K+ · 4.1★ (103) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1204) wp.org #12 13 Solid Mail – SMTP email and logging made by SolidWP 60K+ · 4.2★ (52) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 Check & Log Email – Easy Email Testing & Mail logging 100K+ · 4.8★ (290) wp.org #19 ↑1 5 too low 15 Mail Mint – Email Marketing, Automation & WooCommerce Emails with AI Assistance 4K+ · 4.7★ (125) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 Meow Mailer – Free SMTP, Everything Included 700+ · 4.9★ (17) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 Payment Button for PayPal 4K+ · 4.5★ (40) wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too low 18 Ultimate WP Mail 700+ · 4.5★ (20) wp.org #18 ↑1 19 Bit SMTP – Easy SMTP Solution with Email Logs 2K+ · 3.9★ (15) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 Mail Queue 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #23 ↓6 3 too low 21 SMTP for Amazon SES – YaySMTP 3K+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too low 22 Pro Mail SMTP 300+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #17 ↑1 5 too high 23 SMTP for SendGrid – YaySMTP 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 10 too high 24 CloudSecure WP Security 100K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↑1 3 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.