wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “contact form shortcode”
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 “contact form shortcode”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 5 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
Constant Contact Forms shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.6★ average from 107 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 3221 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143)
wp.org #1 2 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #2 3 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #3 4 
Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
Database for Contact Form 7, WPforms, Elementor forms 60K+ · 4.8★ (124)
wp.org #6 ↑2 1 too low 6 
Bit Form – Contact Form, Payment Forms, Multi Step Forms, Calculator & Custom Form Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (259)
wp.org #9 ↑15 3 too low 7 
Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (973)
wp.org #12 ↓3 5 too low 8 
CF7 Apps – Addons for Contact Form 7 (Honeypot, Database, Redirection, Webhook, etc.) 300K+ · 3.8★ (135) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #4 4 too high 9 
MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #7 2 too high 10 
Contact Form by Supsystic – Drag & Drop Form Builder with Templates & Form Statistics 6K+ · 4.7★ (92)
wp.org #11 1 too low 11 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221)
wp.org #23 12 too low 12 
Contact Form by BestWebSoft – Advanced WP Contact Form Builder for WordPress 30K+ · 4.0★ (292)
wp.org #13 1 too low 13 
Formidable Forms – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Payment, Calculator Form & Custom Form Builder 300K+ · 4.8★ (1388)
wp.org #24 11 too low 14 
Drag and Drop Multiple File Upload for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (94)
wp.org #16 2 too low 15 
SureForms – Contact Form Builder, AI Forms, Payment Form, Survey & Quiz 500K+ · 4.8★ (102)
wp.org #17 ↓5 2 too low 16 
LukasApps CAPTCHA tools for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.1★ (48) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 ↑2 8 too high 17 
Image CAPTCHA for Contact Form 7 and WPForms by HookAndHook (DSGVO/GDPR) 70K+ · 4.7★ (49)
wp.org #19 2 too low 18 
DTX – Dynamic Text Extension for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.7★ (99) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 3 too high 19 
Redirection for Contact Form 7 200K+ · 4.7★ (275) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 1 too low 20 
VS Contact Form 6K+ · 4.8★ (50)
wp.org #21 1 too low 21 
Contact Form Email 8K+ · 4.3★ (102) not PHP-current
wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Constant Contact Forms 20K+ · 2.6★ (107)
wp.org #10 ↓4 12 too high 23 
Webheadcoder Multi-Step Forms for Contact Form 7 50K+ · 4.2★ (49) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #14 9 too high 24 
Contact Form to Chat Apps | Click to Chat to Order – FormyChat 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓1 6 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.