wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “cf7 addon”
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 “cf7 addon”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 7 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
Email Addon for Contact Form 7 shows at wp.org #12 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.6★ average from 9 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
PowerPack Lite for Beaver Builder places #11 on merit, 5.0★ from 243 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Database Addon for Contact Form 7 – CFDB7 600K+ · 5.0★ (1875)
wp.org #3 2 too low 2 
Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (107)
wp.org #2 3 
CF7 Apps – Addons for Contact Form 7 (Honeypot, Database, Redirection, Webhook, etc.) 300K+ · 3.8★ (135) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #1 2 too high 4 
Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528)
wp.org #4 5 
Addon Elements for Elementor (formerly Elementor Addon Elements) 80K+ · 4.8★ (172)
wp.org #5 ↑2 6 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7 
Void Contact Form 7 Widget For Elementor Page Builder 10K+ · 4.9★ (103)
wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too low 8 
Multi Step for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.7★ (77)
wp.org #10 ↑8 2 too low 9 
Master Addons for Elementor – Elementor Addons, Widgets, Mega Menu Builder, Popup Builder, Widget Builder & Template Kits 30K+ · 4.5★ (212)
wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too low 10 D DS CF7 Math Captcha 10K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #6 ↓1 4 too high 11 PowerPack Lite for Beaver Builder 6K+ · 5.0★ (243)
wp.org #22 ↑1 11 too low 12 
Extensions For CF7 (Contact form 7 Database, Conditional Fields and Redirection) 5K+ · 4.9★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #7 ↓1 5 too high 13 
Integration for Mailchimp and Contact Form 7, WPForms, Elementor, Ninja Forms 8K+ · 5.0★ (30)
wp.org #19 6 too low 14 
Xpro Addons — 150+ Widgets for Elementor 40K+ · 4.4★ (28)
wp.org #17 3 too low 15 
Integration for HubSpot and Contact Form 7, WPForms, Elementor, Ninja Forms 5K+ · 4.9★ (53)
wp.org #23 ↓1 8 too low 16 
Post My CF7 Form 2K+ · 4.8★ (48) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too high 17 
CF7 Views – Complete Entry Management for Contact Form 7 1K+ · 4.6★ (17) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #9 ↓1 8 too high 18 
Tablesome Table – Contact Form DB – WPForms, CF7, Gravity, Forminator, Fluent 7K+ · 4.8★ (89) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #21 3 too low 19 
Images Optimize and Upload CF7 700+ · 4.8★ (14) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too high 20 
Lenix Leads Collector 10K+ · 4.4★ (25)
wp.org #24 4 too low 21 
Popups – Submission Messages For Contact Form 7 3K+ · 4.7★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too high 22 Email Addon for Contact Form 7 3K+ · 4.6★ (9) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↓1 10 too high 23 
Message Bridge for Contact Form 7 and Telegram 10K+ · 4.3★ (22) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓2 5 too high 24 
HTML Editor for Contact Form 7 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #20 4 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.