Advanced Custom Fields: reCAPTCHA Field
by Irvin Lim · Forms
Prevent spam on your Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) v5 frontend forms with Google reCAPTCHA.
45 health vs 63 average across 1,679 Forms plugins
High removal-risk signals
63/100Maintenance and integrity signals that tend to precede a WordPress.org removal. Not an official status, a heads-up to act.
- Long abandoned. No update in 7+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 4.9.31, well behind 6.8.
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Under-optimized
Biggest win: Update recency
To rank higher: Last updated 2785 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
Get the full rank-higher report →Daily downloads
Since 2022-10-05 · 1,424 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peaks are release surges
132
now · peak 197
Directory rank vs rivals
wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
Release cadence
No release in a yearHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
0
releases in the last 12 months
7.6y ago
latest release · v1.3.3
16
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 100% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “800+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Refined from the date this plugin crossed into its current band.
Install history · since 2022-10-04 · 1,421 observations
Estimated value
What this plugin might earn a year, and what it might sell for. Modeled from public signals; we don't see anyone's books.
Est. annual revenue
Est. acquisition value
No paid tier is visible, so we don't put a figure on revenue or sale value: that would be guessing. The install base is a real asset to an acquirer, just not one public data lets us price. A small install base leaves thin data to model from.
Details
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Matthias Honert7.6y ago
If you using Advanced Forms with ACF and you need spam protection for your front end form — this is the perfect solution.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ codevelop8.8y ago
Plugin works great. I had a few questions and ideas, and the dev was amazingly quick to respond, eager to help, and very collaborative. 5 stars!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ radgh8.9y ago
Tried using this with an acf_form that created a new post, using the method to put it inside the acf_form() function. It worked, but you have to submit the form once before you can fill out the rest of the form. This actually creates blank posts! And configuration is just very convoluted. Some other reviews say it worked out of the box. What? Not for me. But I’m not using it in a field group, because it should only appear for guests. Oh well.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ silentfred9.0y ago
Thank you for contributing this!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Andrija Naglic9.3y ago
Although it seems this plugin was broken and not maintained for several months, I’ve installed it just now, exactly one week since it’s last update – and it’s simple functionality just – works. I hope it will continue to work and that Google won’t change much in their API, but in case something does break, I will return here to add comments to this review. Till then, I believe the author deserves 5 stars for his effort, at least to improve the overall rating of the plugin which is currently (unjustified) 3.3 Keep up the good work!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Because Name Already Exists9.4y ago
Work like a charm
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ pat_trick9.5y ago
Testing with ACF Pro 5.5.10 and version 1.0.5 of this plugin. Have been building front end forms, and it works like a charm! Just make sure to follow the setup instructions correctly.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ dornstudio9.8y ago
Had some issues in the past, but have edited this review as this plugin has been updated and works perfectly now. This topic was modified 8 years, 11 months ago by dornstudio.
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.2.4
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-05-10 900+ → 800+ down after 222 days in tier
- 2025-09-30 1K+ → 900+ down
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
-
Mailster reCaptcha 1K+ installs · 3.4★ · 3 shared tags D -
Advanced Google reCAPTCHA 200K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A -
reCaptcha by BestWebSoft 100K+ installs · 3.9★ · 2 shared tags A -
CAPTCHA 4WP – Antispam CAPTCHA solution for WordPress 100K+ installs · 3.2★ · 2 shared tags B -
LukasApps CAPTCHA tools for Contact Form 7 100K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags B -
Captcha Code 100K+ installs · 3.9★ · 2 shared tags B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Advanced Custom Fields: reCAPTCHA Field into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/advanced-custom-fields-recaptcha-field" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Advanced Custom Fields: reCAPTCHA Field — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Advanced Custom Fields: reCAPTCHA Field: 800+ active installs, 4.2★ (12 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-08-28. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/advanced-custom-fields-recaptcha-field