wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “send message”
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 “send message”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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
HivePress Messages shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 7K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205)
wp.org #1 2 
Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142)
wp.org #2 3 
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 #6 ↓1 3 too low 4 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #7 3 too low 5 
Send Emails with Mandrill 6K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #3 ↑1 2 too high 6 
Send Users Email – Email Subscribers, Email Marketing Newsletter 5K+ · 4.5★ (28)
wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too high 7 
MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435)
wp.org #12 ↓2 5 too low 8 
Cart Abandonment Recovery for WooCommerce – Recover Lost Sales with Automated Emails 300K+ · 4.8★ (626)
wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too low 9 
Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244)
wp.org #16 7 too low 10 
Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons 30K+ · 5.0★ (775)
wp.org #20 10 too low 11 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #15 ↓4 4 too low 12 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #23 11 too low 13 
Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601)
wp.org #24 11 too low 14 
Message Bridge for Contact Form 7 and Telegram 10K+ · 4.3★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #9 5 too high 15 
Click to Chat – HoliThemes 600K+ · 4.8★ (131)
wp.org #19 4 too low 16 
Smart Send 300+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #5 ↑1 11 too high 17 
Sticky Chat Widget – Floating Chat Icons, Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, Email & Message Buttons 10K+ · 5.0★ (39)
wp.org #18 1 too low 18 
OrderConvo – Vendor & Customer Messages After Orders 200+ · 4.6★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↑1 7 too high 19 
Notification for Telegram 4K+ · 4.9★ (71)
wp.org #22 ↓1 3 too low 20 
WSMS (formerly WP SMS): SMS and OTP for WordPress and WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.1★ (107)
wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too low 21 
Contact Form to DB by BestWebSoft – Messages Database Plugin For WordPress 1K+ · 4.2★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too high 22 
Pingo Notify – Automation & Notification Chat Messages 300+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #17 5 too high 23 HivePress Messages 7K+ · 3.7★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #8 15 too high 24 
Send Emails — Newsletters, Automation & Email Marketing for WordPress 60+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↑5 14 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.