wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “contact plugin”
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 plugin”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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
Constant Contact Forms shows at wp.org #6 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 10 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
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 4228 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Contact Form 7 10M+ · 4.0★ (2186)
wp.org #1 2 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #2 3 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #3 4 
Database Addon for Contact Form 7 – CFDB7 600K+ · 5.0★ (1875)
wp.org #4 ↑2 5 
Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (107)
wp.org #5 ↑2 6 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #7 ↑2 1 too low 7 
Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504)
wp.org #10 ↑7 3 too low 8 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228)
wp.org #12 ↑8 4 too low 9 
Contact Form by BestWebSoft – Advanced WP Contact Form Builder for WordPress 30K+ · 4.0★ (292)
wp.org #9 ↑2 10 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too low 11 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) not PHP-current
wp.org #11 ↑5 12 
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #15 ↓2 3 too low 13 
CF7 Apps – Addons for Contact Form 7 (Honeypot, Database, Redirection, Webhook, etc.) 300K+ · 3.8★ (135) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 5 too high 14 
GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #16 ↓2 2 too low 15 
Database for Contact Form 7, WPforms, Elementor forms 60K+ · 4.8★ (124)
wp.org #21 6 too low 16 Constant Contact Forms 20K+ · 2.6★ (107)
wp.org #6 ↓2 10 too high 17 
Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641)
wp.org #19 ↑2 2 too low 18 
GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155)
wp.org #18 19 
Plugin Organizer 10K+ · 4.7★ (227) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #17 ↑5 2 too high 20 
Drag and Drop Multiple File Upload for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (94)
wp.org #24 4 too low 21 
Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ · 4.5★ (157)
wp.org #22 1 too low 22 
Contact Form 7 – PayPal & Stripe Add-on 7K+ · 4.2★ (125) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #23 1 too low 23 
LukasApps CAPTCHA tools for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.1★ (48) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 ↑4 3 too high 24 
WP Gravity Forms Constant Contact Plugin 600+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↑1 10 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.