wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “contact form”
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”, 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 #21 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.6★ average from 103 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Spam protection, Honeypot, Anti-Spam by CleanTalk places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 3205 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Contact Form 7 10M+ · 4.0★ (2178)
wp.org #1 2 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2113)
wp.org #2 ↑1 3 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14366)
wp.org #3 ↓1 4 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 700K+ · 4.8★ (789)
wp.org #5 ↑2 1 too low 5 
Ninja Forms – The Contact Form Builder That Grows With You 600K+ · 4.4★ (1395)
wp.org #6 ↓2 1 too low 6 
Database Addon for Contact Form 7 – CFDB7 600K+ · 5.0★ (1874)
wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7 
Formidable Forms – WordPress Form Builder for Contact Forms, Calculators, Quizzes & More 300K+ · 4.8★ (1380)
wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too low 8 Spam protection, Honeypot, Anti-Spam by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3205)
wp.org #13 5 too low 9 
Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (970)
wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10 
CF7 Apps – Honeypot, Database, Redirection, Webhook, and Addons for Contact Form 7 300K+ · 3.8★ (135) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #4 ↑1 6 too high 11 
MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 600K+ · 4.7★ (503) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #7 ↓1 4 too high 12 
SureForms – Contact Form Builder, AI Forms, Payment Form, Survey & Quiz 500K+ · 4.9★ (87)
wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too high 13 
Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (106)
wp.org #14 ↓4 1 too low 14 
WS Form LITE – Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (319)
wp.org #21 7 too low 15 
Database for Contact Form 7, WPforms, Elementor forms 60K+ · 4.8★ (124)
wp.org #16 ↑1 1 too low 16 
Contact Form by BestWebSoft – Advanced WP Contact Form Builder for WordPress 30K+ · 4.0★ (291)
wp.org #19 ↑3 3 too low 17 
Conditional Fields for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.8★ (166) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↑4 2 too high 18 
Connect Contact Form 7 to Mailchimp, Brevo, MailerLite & Klaviyo 40K+ · 4.2★ (191)
wp.org #22 ↑1 4 too low 19 
Redirection for Contact Form 7 200K+ · 4.7★ (275) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 1 too low 20 
DTX – Dynamic Text Extension for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.7★ (99) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too high 21 Constant Contact Forms 20K+ · 2.6★ (103)
wp.org #10 ↓2 11 too high 22 
Webheadcoder Multi-Step Forms for Contact Form 7 50K+ · 4.2★ (49) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 4 too high 23 
LukasApps CAPTCHA tools for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.1★ (48) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #24 ↓4 1 too low 24 
WPZOOM Forms – Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder for WordPress 10K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #23 1 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.