wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “quick sms”
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 “quick sms”, we and wp.org disagree 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
Texty – SMS Notification for WordPress, WooCommerce, Dokan and more shows at wp.org #8 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 7K+ 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
Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons places #12 on merit, 5.0★ from 775 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.
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040)
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 
SMS Alert – SMS Notifications & OTP Login, COD Verification, Abandoned Cart Recovery 3K+ · 4.6★ (35)
wp.org #1 1 too high 3 
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
Sender – Newsletter, SMS and Email Marketing Automation for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.8★ (83)
wp.org #3 1 too high 5 
miniOrange OTP Login, Verification and SMS Notifications 5K+ · 4.7★ (439)
wp.org #5 6 
Cart Abandonment Recovery for WooCommerce – Recover Lost Sales with Automated Emails 300K+ · 4.8★ (626)
wp.org #6 ↑2 7 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #7 8 
WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209)
wp.org #9 1 too low 9 
miniOrange 2FA – Two Factor Authentication for WordPress (Passkey, OTP, SMS, Email, Google Authenticator) 10K+ · 4.5★ (385)
wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too low 10 
Email Marketing for WooCommerce by Omnisend 40K+ · 4.9★ (169)
wp.org #10 ↑2 11 
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551)
wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too low 12 Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons 30K+ · 5.0★ (775)
wp.org #17 5 too low 13 
Online Scheduling and Appointment Booking System – Bookly 60K+ · 4.4★ (586)
wp.org #15 ↑1 2 too low 14 
Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601)
wp.org #18 ↑5 4 too low 15 
Booking for Appointments and Events Calendar – Amelia 90K+ · 4.6★ (793)
wp.org #19 ↑1 4 too low 16 
Chat Widget: Floating Customer Support Button for 30+ Channels, Supporting SMS, Calls, and Chat – Bit Assist 9K+ · 4.9★ (111)
wp.org #14 2 too high 17 
Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (108)
wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too high 18 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #20 ↓2 2 too low 19 
Five Star Restaurant Reservations – WordPress Booking Plugin 10K+ · 4.7★ (211)
wp.org #21 ↓2 2 too low 20 
Appointment Booking Plugin – LatePoint | Calendar & Scheduling for WordPress 100K+ · 4.9★ (107)
wp.org #24 4 too low 21 
OTP Login With Phone Number, OTP Verification 1K+ · 4.9★ (81)
wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 
Sticky Chat Widget – Floating Chat Icons, Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, Email & Message Buttons 10K+ · 5.0★ (39)
wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 
Notification Master – Real-Time WordPress Notifications With Email, SMS, Webhooks & More 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews
wp.org #13 10 too high 24 Texty – SMS Notification for WordPress, WooCommerce, Dokan and more 7K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↓2 16 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.