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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “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 “sms”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 4 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.

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

TextMe SMS shows at wp.org #9 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

miniOrange 2FA – Two Factor Authentication for WordPress (OTP, SMS, Email, Google Authenticator) places #11 on merit, 4.5★ from 385 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 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) wp.org #1 2 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #2 ↑2 3 WSMS (formerly WP SMS): SMS and OTP for WordPress and WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.1★ (107) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 افزونه پیامک ووکامرس | Persian WooCommerce SMS 50K+ · 4.5★ (118) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 Brevo – Email, SMS, Web Push, Chat, and more. 100K+ · 4.1★ (284) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 SMS Alert – SMS Notifications & OTP Login, COD Verification, Abandoned Cart Recovery 3K+ · 4.6★ (35) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Sender – Newsletter, SMS and Email Marketing Automation for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.8★ (83) wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too low 8 miniOrange OTP Login, Verification and SMS Notifications 5K+ · 4.7★ (439) wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too low 9 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #17 ↑2 8 too low 10 Newsletters, Email Marketing, SMS and Popups by Omnisend 100K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 miniOrange 2FA – Two Factor Authentication for WordPress (OTP, SMS, Email, Google Authenticator) 10K+ · 4.5★ (385) wp.org #21 10 too low 12 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #15 ↓3 3 too low 13 WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 Email Marketing for WooCommerce by Omnisend 40K+ · 4.9★ (169) wp.org #22 ↑2 8 too low 15 Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) wp.org #20 ↓3 5 too low 16 Cart Abandonment Recovery for WooCommerce – Recover Lost Sales with Automated Emails 300K+ · 4.8★ (625) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 WC – APG SMS Notifications 300+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #14 ↑1 3 too high 18 S SMS Extension for Contact Form 7 400+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 Kargo Takip, Kargo SMS, İlçe Mahalle Sözleşme by Hezarfen 2K+ · 5.0★ (43) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 BulkGate SMS Plugin for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.1★ (12) wp.org #10 10 too high 21 TextMe SMS 500+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #9 ↓1 12 too high 22 Alpha SMS 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 6 too high 23 ShopMagic – Twilio SMS 700+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 Texty – SMS Notification for WordPress, WooCommerce, Dokan and more 7K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↑1 11 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.