70
Email Log
Debugging is easy until the database bloat starts biting back.
HealthyGrowing
70/100
Simple logging works well until you need to manage your database or deal with reliability regressions.
Active installs
~85,000
our estimate · wp.org shows 80k+
Rating
4.2★
43 ratings
Trend · vs a year ago
+58%
Growing fast
205 → 325 installs/day
Downloads over time
real new installs per day · release spikes shown separately from the trend2025-04-302025-08-082025-11-162026-02-232026-06-03
organicrelease spikerelease tailorganic trend · 14d rolling median
Growing fast · +58% in the last year
205/day a year ago→325/day today
Reviews
what people actually sayEmail Log is a straightforward, well-liked plugin for basic email logging in WordPress, but it has drawn growing frustration over reliability regressions, a performance issue at scale, and key features being locked behind a paid upgrade.
What people like
- +Does its core job — logging emails — simply and reliably for many users×7
- +Easy to set up with no unnecessary extras×3
- +Recommended for client sites as a go-to email debugging tool×2
Common complaints
- −Key functionality (e.g., data/log deletion, additional fields) locked behind a paid Pro license, which users find punishing for a free plugin×3
- −Emails not being logged at all or only logged intermittently, with no resolution from support×3
- −Recent updates broke the plugin; one user had to restore their site from a backup after damage caused by the plugin×2
- −Severe performance issue: looping through a large log table on every new email caused a server CPU outage at high email volumes
- −PHP notice for premature translation loading (_load_textdomain_just_in_time called incorrectly), flagged as a code quality issue (since 6.7.0)
- −Logs email content but omits useful header information in the free version
- −Developer/ownership change suspected, with a broken support website reported
Review trustMostly organic
- 4.21★Verified rating — holds steady vs the raw 4.20★
- 0%One-shot reviewers — most reviewers are active community members
- past spikeReview timing — up to 33% of all reviews landed in a single month
Reviews per month · 5★ vs lower
2024-09-122025-08-082026-06-04
5★ reviews1–4★ reviews
All-time ratings · 43 total
Latest reviews · 43 analyzed
- 2025-12-20★★★★★Have to get Pro in order to remove additions to dbmagdamunro
- 2025-11-05★★★★★Used to work well – Not anymorewhuchumeen
- 2025-06-17★★★★★Simple and worksambri
- 2024-11-23★★★★★Great plugin, working wellKnut Sparhell
- 2024-11-21★★★★★Excellent pluginelnebuloso
- 2024-08-26★★★★★Useless unless paidAdam Tulloss
- 2023-02-23★★★★★Doesn't WorkJust a Wordpress User
- 2022-09-16★★★★★Stopped workingpatthai
- 2022-08-08★★★★★Excellent pluginnimonogi
- 2022-03-23★★★★★Broken please fix.johndeebdd
Releases
recent versions from WordPress.org SVNAlternatives to Email Log
Top Email plugins, ranked by score.For developers & the curious
the raw signals behind the grade — none of this is on the friendly summary aboveDownload signals
Baselines are computed on organic days only — release spikes and their tails are excluded, so they're not inflated by the auto-update wave.
331
Baseline · median of last 7 organic days
200
Prior 7-day baseline
225
Floor · 25th percentile over 14 days
479
Mean release-day peak (30d)
525
Latest day · 2026-06-03(spike)
+65.5%
Week-over-week organic trend
Review signals
Concentration and drive-by metrics drive the review-burst and fake-review flags. 30–40% solo reviewers is normal; we only flag the extremes.
33%
Max month share · biggest single 30-day window
1.97
Distribution CV · <0.6 even, >1.5 bursty
77%
5★ share in analyzed sample
0%
Solo reviewers · only this one wp.org activity
—
Volume velocity · last 6mo vs prior 6mo
4.21 → 4.21★
Sample avg · raw → solo-filtered