wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “sms widgets”
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 widgets”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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
BulkGate SMS Plugin for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #6 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.1★ average from 12 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 #9 on merit, 5.0★ from 775 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244)
wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too low 2 
WSMS (formerly WP SMS): SMS Notifications, OTP Login and WooCommerce SMS 7K+ · 4.1★ (107)
wp.org #1 ↑1 1 too high 3 
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221)
wp.org #7 ↑3 4 too low 4 
Brevo – Email, SMS, Web Push, Chat, and more. 100K+ · 4.1★ (284)
wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 
SMS Alert – SMS Notifications & OTP Login, COD Verification, Abandoned Cart Recovery 3K+ · 4.6★ (35)
wp.org #3 ↑1 2 too high 6 
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551)
wp.org #8 2 too low 7 
Newsletters, Email Marketing, SMS and Popups by Omnisend 100K+ · 4.8★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #4 ↑1 3 too high 8 
Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355)
wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too low 9 Chatway Live Chat – AI Chatbot, Customer Support, FAQ & Helpdesk Customer Service & Chat Buttons 30K+ · 5.0★ (775)
wp.org #15 ↑1 6 too low 10 
Element Pack Addons for Elementor – MCP & AI-Ready Elementor Widgets, Elementor Templates, Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.7★ (284)
wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too low 11 
Sender – Newsletter, SMS and Email Marketing Automation for WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.8★ (83)
wp.org #9 2 too high 12 
Chat Widget: Floating Customer Support Button for 30+ Channels, Supporting SMS, Calls, and Chat – Bit Assist 9K+ · 4.9★ (111)
wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too high 13 
Email Marketing for WooCommerce by Omnisend 40K+ · 4.9★ (169)
wp.org #14 ↑3 1 too low 14 
miniOrange 2FA – Two Factor Authentication for WordPress (Passkey, OTP, SMS, Email, Google Authenticator) 10K+ · 4.5★ (385)
wp.org #17 3 too low 15 
Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528)
wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too low 16 
Sticky Chat Widget – Floating Chat Icons, Contact Form, Call, Click to Chat, Email & Message Buttons 10K+ · 5.0★ (39)
wp.org #13 3 too high 17 
Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397)
wp.org #21 ↑3 4 too low 18 
Simply Schedule Appointments 50K+ · 5.0★ (155)
wp.org #22 ↑2 4 too low 19 
Smart Marketing SMS and Newsletters Forms 1K+ · 5.0★ (154)
wp.org #23 4 too low 20 
WP Social Ninja – Embed Social Feeds, User Reviews & Chat Widgets 30K+ · 4.8★ (71)
wp.org #19 1 too high 21 BulkGate SMS Plugin for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.1★ (12) thin reviews
wp.org #6 ↑1 15 too high 22 
Kargo Takip, WooCommerce & Dokan Kargo Takip, SMS ve E-posta 2K+ · 4.9★ (39)
wp.org #20 2 too high 23 
PushEngage – Web Push Notifications, WooCommerce Automation & Chat Widget 8K+ · 4.3★ (37)
wp.org #24 1 too low 24 
Lead Generation Contact Widget & AI Chatbot: Chat Button, Phone Call, Telegram, Email – SiteLeads 10K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↑1 8 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.