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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “live chat button”

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 “live chat button”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 of the top 20.

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

Simple Chat Button shows at wp.org #6 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 40K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 14 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 3221 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons 30K+ · 5.0★ (775) wp.org #1 2 Tidio – Live Chat & AI Chatbots 70K+ · 4.8★ (395) wp.org #2 3 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #3 4 Social Chat – Click To Chat App Button 200K+ · 4.9★ (696) wp.org #4 5 3CX Free Live Chat, Calls & Messaging 100K+ · 4.6★ (820) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Click to Chat – HoliThemes 600K+ · 4.8★ (131) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too high 7 Live Chat by Formilla – Real-time Chat & Chatbots Plugin 2K+ · 4.8★ (116) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Chat Button & Custom ChatGPT-Powered Bot by GetButton.io 20K+ · 4.5★ (175) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 Tawk.To Live Chat 100K+ · 4.6★ (142) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #21 ↑1 11 too low 11 Buttonizer – Live Chat, AI Chatbot, Call, Chat, Contact Button 50K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Call Now Button – The Free Click to Call Button for WordPress 200K+ · 4.8★ (102) wp.org #12 13 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #14 1 too low 14 Simple Chat Button 40K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #6 ↓1 8 too high 15 Buttonizer – Floating Menus, Sticky Buttons, & Popup Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (151) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 Sticky Chat Widget – Floating Chat Icons, Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, Email & Message Buttons 10K+ · 5.0★ (39) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 Chat Widget: Floating Customer Support Button for 30+ Channels, Supporting SMS, Calls, and Chat – Bit Assist 9K+ · 4.9★ (111) wp.org #23 ↑1 6 too low 18 MyLiveChat – Free Live Chat & AI Chatbot 800+ · 4.4★ (27) wp.org #18 19 Add Chat App Button 2K+ · 4.8★ (13) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 Animated Floating Chat Button 4K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 HelpCrunch – Live Chat, Chatbot & Knowledge Base for Customer Service 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #16 5 too high 22 ChatHelp – Click to Chat Button, Chat to Order for WooCommerce & Floating Chat Form 2K+ · 4.4★ (9) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 WP Click to Chat – Email, Live Chat, Call & Book Now Buttons 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too high 24 Chaport — Live Chat & Chatbots 2K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #24

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.