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

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 plugin”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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 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

Charla Live Chat shows at wp.org #12 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform places #12 on merit, 4.6★ from 708 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. 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 3CX Free Live Chat, Calls & Messaging 100K+ · 4.6★ (820) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 LiveChat – Live Chat Plugin for WP Websites 10K+ · 4.6★ (98) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #6 ↑3 1 too low 6 Click to Chat – HoliThemes 600K+ · 4.8★ (131) wp.org #5 ↑2 1 too high 7 Social Chat – Click To Chat App Button 200K+ · 4.9★ (696) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Live Chat by Formilla – Real-time Chat & Chatbots Plugin 2K+ · 4.8★ (116) wp.org #7 ↓2 1 too high 9 Tawk.To Live Chat 100K+ · 4.6★ (142) wp.org #9 ↓3 10 Smartsupp – live chat, AI shopping assistant and chatbots 20K+ · 4.7★ (131) wp.org #10 ↑13 11 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #15 ↑1 4 too low 12 GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) wp.org #17 ↓2 5 too low 13 HubSpot All-In-One Marketing – Forms, Popups, Live Chat 200K+ · 4.3★ (207) wp.org #23 ↓13 10 too low 14 Sticky Chat Widget – Floating Chat Icons, Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, Email & Message Buttons 10K+ · 5.0★ (39) wp.org #20 6 too low 15 Live Chat Plugin for WooCommerce – LiveChat 900+ · 4.5★ (22) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 Crisp – Live Chat and AI Chatbot 20K+ · 4.6★ (73) wp.org #24 8 too low 17 Chatra Live Chat + ChatBot + Cart Saver 2K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #13 4 too high 18 MyLiveChat – Free Live Chat & AI Chatbot 800+ · 4.4★ (27) wp.org #18 19 HelpCrunch – Live Chat, Chatbot & Knowledge Base for Customer Service 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 Simple Chat Button 40K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 Buttonizer – Live Chat, AI Chatbot, Call, Chat, Contact Button 50K+ · 5.0★ (23) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Chaport — Live Chat & Chatbots 2K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #16 ↑1 6 too high 23 Lime Connect (formerly Userlike) – WordPress Live Chat plugin 800+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 Charla Live Chat 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 12 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.