wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “twilio”

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 “twilio”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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 #9 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 15 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

Appointment Hour Booking – Booking Calendar places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 524 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #2 1 too low 2

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 #4 ↓1 2 too low 3

Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #5 ↓1 2 too low 4

Redirection for Contact Form 7 200K+ · 4.7★ (275) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #3 ↑2 1 too high 5

Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (107) wp.org #6 1 too low 6

Simply Schedule Appointments 50K+ · 5.0★ (155) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7

Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too low 8

ShopMagic – Twilio SMS 700+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #1 7 too high 9

Appointment Hour Booking – Booking Calendar 10K+ · 4.9★ (524) wp.org #18 ↑4 9 too low 10

All In One Login 60K+ · 3.6★ (35) wp.org #7 3 too high 11

MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #12 ↑6 1 too low 12

Order On Mobile for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (66) wp.org #15 3 too low 13

WSMS (formerly WP SMS): SMS and OTP for WordPress and WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.1★ (107) wp.org #14 1 too low 14

Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #16 ↓3 2 too low 15

ShopMagic – email automation for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (78) wp.org #21 ↓5 6 too low 16

Salon Booking System – Appointment Booking for Salons, Barbershops & Spas 2K+ · 4.4★ (187) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #19 3 too low 17

Easy Appointments 10K+ · 4.3★ (131) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #17 ↑7 18

OTP Login With Phone Number, OTP Verification 1K+ · 4.9★ (81) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #20 ↓9 2 too low 19

NotifSMS – SMS Notifications OTP & 2FA for WordPress & WooCommerce 1K+ · 3.4★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↓2 9 too high 20

OttoKit: All-in-One Automation Platform 90K+ · 4.9★ (124) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #22 ↓3 2 too low 21

Noptin – Newsletter, New Post Notifications & Email Automation 10K+ · 4.5★ (120) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #23 ↓3 2 too low 22

Blacklist Manager – WooCommerce Anti-Fraud, Blacklist & Checkout Verification 2K+ · 3.6★ (14) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓3 9 too high 23

LukasApps CAPTCHA tools for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.1★ (48) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #24 ↓3 1 too low 24

Texty – SMS Notification for WordPress, WooCommerce, Dokan and more 7K+ · 5.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #9 ↓2 15 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.