Essential Form – The lightest plugin for contact forms, ultra lightweight and no spam

How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.

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

How often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.

Share 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.

Refined from the date this plugin crossed into its current band.

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.

1. ★★★★★ myjosephines

   7mo ago

   Simple and no bloat, love it

   Read on wp.org ↗
2. ★★★★★ eleventyseventy

   7mo ago

   Sorry, I removed the text as I should have posted in “Support Threads” instead This topic was modified 5 months, 3 weeks ago by eleventyseventy.

   Read on wp.org ↗
3. ★★★★★ sybydesign

   8mo ago

   Like you say, love it or hate it. This is perfect for one of my sites, and I love it. Not enough form for my other site, but that’s OK. It works great for what it works for. Thank you for making this light easy form plugin.

   Read on wp.org ↗
4. ★★★★★ N.g

   1.2y ago

   Very fast, thank you!

   Read on wp.org ↗
5. ★★★★★ mcdeth

   1.4y ago

   Got rid of contact form and wpform, no more bloats. Hands down to Jose

   Read on wp.org ↗
6. ★★★★★ Gabriel R.

   1.4y ago

   It should use the theme style, but it’s not, fields and buttons are tiny and HTML defaulty looking. This topic was modified 1 year, 3 months ago by Gabriel R..

   Read on wp.org ↗
7. ★★★★★ Sahil Dadwal

   1.5y ago

   Mind blowing plugin. never see that type plugin in past. just 14kb size plugin with no-spam feature inbuilt. Best of luck Jose ❤️🎉

   Read on wp.org ↗
8. ★★★★★ Mauro

   2.2y ago

   The plugin is a great alternative to the classic plugins used for contact forms. Very lightweight and easy to configure.

   Read on wp.org ↗

Automated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 6.8.3

Translated into 10 languages, 3 at 90% or more

Growth timeline

Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow

1. 2026-01-13 400+ → 500+ up after 1 days in tier
2. 2026-01-12 500+ → 400+ down after 56 days in tier
3. 2025-11-17 400+ → 500+ up after 1 days in tier
4. 2025-11-16 500+ → 400+ down after 15 days in tier
5. 2025-11-01 400+ → 500+ up after 204 days in tier
6. 2025-04-11 300+ → 400+ up after 273 days in tier
7. 2024-07-12 200+ → 300+ up after 1 days in tier
8. 2024-07-11 300+ → 200+ down after 1 days in tier

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).

• Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection 5M+ installs · 4.7★ · 2 shared tags A
• Gravity PDF 20K+ installs · 4.9★ · 2 shared tags B
• Contact Form Email 8K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags A
• VS Contact Form 7K+ installs · 4.7★ · 2 shared tags A
• ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments 7K+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags A
• Generate PDF using Contact Form 7 4K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags A

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Essential Form – The lightest plugin for contact forms, ultra lightweight and no spam: 500+ active installs, 4.9★ (19 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-08-30. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/essential-form