wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “custom form elements”
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 “custom form elements”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20.
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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
CF7 Apps – Addons for Contact Form 7 (Honeypot, Database, Redirection, Webhook, etc.) shows at wp.org #12 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 300K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.8★ average from 135 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #1 2 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #3 1 too low 3 
Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440)
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525)
wp.org #4 5 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (808)
wp.org #5 6 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #6 7 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #7 8 
Bit Form – Contact Form, Payment Forms, Multi Step Forms, Calculator & Custom Form Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (259)
wp.org #8 9 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132)
wp.org #10 1 too low 10 
Addon Elements for Elementor (formerly Elementor Addon Elements) 80K+ · 4.8★ (172)
wp.org #9 1 too high 11 
Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397)
wp.org #11 12 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2052)
wp.org #14 2 too low 13 
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221)
wp.org #19 6 too low 14 
WS Form LITE – Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (322)
wp.org #16 2 too low 15 
Product Addons for Woocommerce – Product Options with Custom Fields 30K+ · 4.9★ (474)
wp.org #20 5 too low 16 
RegistrationMagic – Custom Registration Forms, User Registration, Payment, and User Login 7K+ · 4.5★ (459)
wp.org #17 1 too low 17 
Secure Custom Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (69)
wp.org #13 4 too high 18 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040)
wp.org #22 4 too low 19 
Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423)
wp.org #23 4 too low 20 CF7 Apps – Addons for Contact Form 7 (Honeypot, Database, Redirection, Webhook, etc.) 300K+ · 3.8★ (135)
wp.org #12 8 too high 21 
Form Vibes – Save Contact Form 7 & Elementor Form Entries to Database 10K+ · 4.9★ (132)
wp.org #24 3 too low 22 
Elements Hive for Breakdance 1K+ · 5.0★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #21 1 too high 23 
Gutenverse Form – Contact Form Builder, Block Form & Booking Form 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #15 8 too high 24 
Unlimited Elements Blocks Library 500+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #18 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.