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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “sms gateways”

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 gateways”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 3 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

Texty – SMS Notification for WordPress, WooCommerce, Dokan and more shows at wp.org #5 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 12 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

Five Star Restaurant Reservations – WordPress Booking Plugin places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 211 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WSMS (formerly WP SMS): SMS and OTP for WordPress and WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.1★ (107) wp.org #1 2 miniOrange OTP Login, Verification and SMS Notifications 5K+ · 4.7★ (439) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 SMS Alert – SMS Notifications & OTP Login, COD Verification, Abandoned Cart Recovery 3K+ · 4.6★ (35) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 miniOrange 2FA – Two Factor Authentication for WordPress (OTP, SMS, Email, Google Authenticator) 10K+ · 4.5★ (385) wp.org #10 6 too low 5 FunnelKit Payment Gateway for Stripe WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.9★ (53) wp.org #11 ↑1 6 too low 6 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #12 ↓1 6 too low 7 OTP Login With Phone Number, OTP Verification 1K+ · 4.9★ (81) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too low 9 WC – APG SMS Notifications 300+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 TextMe SMS 500+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #3 7 too high 11 Five Star Restaurant Reservations – WordPress Booking Plugin 10K+ · 4.7★ (211) wp.org #20 9 too low 12 VikBooking Hotel Booking Engine & PMS 8K+ · 4.8★ (61) wp.org #15 ↑1 3 too low 13 BulkGate SMS Plugin for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.1★ (12) wp.org #6 7 too high 14 Multibanco, MB WAY, Credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Payshop, and PIX (ifthenpay) for WooCommerce 8K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 Alpha SMS 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 8 too high 16 NotifSMS – SMS Notifications OTP & 2FA for WordPress & WooCommerce 1K+ · 3.4★ (18) wp.org #21 ↑1 5 too low 17 Texty – SMS Notification for WordPress, WooCommerce, Dokan and more 7K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 12 too high 18 Paysera Payment Gateway for WooCommerce 7K+ · 2.9★ (16) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 Netcash WooCommerce Payment Gateway 300+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 Notify.lk SMS for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too high 21 NETOPIA Payments Payment Gateway 10K+ · 3.0★ (9) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 TerraReach SMS for WooCommerce 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too high 23 SMS Gateway Center – Bulk SMS Sender 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 6 too high 24 Gravity Forms – OTP Verification (SMS/EMAIL) 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↑1 2 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.