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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “sms 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 “sms plugin”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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 #7 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 14 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

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 3220 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 #2 ↑1 1 too low 2 افزونه پیامک ووکامرس | Persian WooCommerce SMS 50K+ · 4.5★ (118) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #4 ↑2 1 too low 4 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244) wp.org #6 ↑2 2 too low 5 BulkGate SMS Plugin for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.1★ (12) wp.org #1 ↑1 4 too high 6 SMS Alert – SMS Notifications & OTP Login, COD Verification, Abandoned Cart Recovery 3K+ · 4.6★ (35) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Brevo – Email, SMS, Web Push, Chat, and more. 100K+ · 4.1★ (284) wp.org #10 ↑4 3 too low 8 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #20 ↑3 12 too low 9 miniOrange OTP Login, Verification and SMS Notifications 5K+ · 4.7★ (439) wp.org #16 ↑1 7 too low 10 Sender – Newsletter, SMS and Email Marketing Automation for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.8★ (83) wp.org #14 ↑1 4 too low 11 Five Star Restaurant Reservations – WordPress Booking Plugin 10K+ · 4.7★ (211) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 Orion SMS OTP Verification. 200+ · 4.8★ (119) wp.org #17 ↑2 5 too low 13 miniOrange 2FA – Two Factor Authentication for WordPress (OTP, SMS, Email, Google Authenticator) 10K+ · 4.5★ (385) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 Appointment Booking Plugin – LatePoint | Calendar & Scheduling for WordPress 100K+ · 4.9★ (106) wp.org #19 ↓1 5 too low 15 WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 Newsletters, Email Marketing, SMS and Popups by Omnisend 100K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #8 ↑2 8 too high 17 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #21 ↓1 4 too low 18 WC – APG SMS Notifications 300+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #11 ↑1 7 too high 19 Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) wp.org #24 ↓2 5 too low 20 S SMS Extension for Contact Form 7 400+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #9 ↑2 11 too high 21 TextMe SMS 500+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #7 ↑2 14 too high 22 Alpha SMS 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 ↑1 10 too high 23 ShopMagic – Twilio SMS 700+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #18 ↑3 5 too high 24 Texty – SMS Notification for WordPress, WooCommerce, Dokan and more 7K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↑1 9 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.