wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “form statistics”
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 “form statistics”, 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
SilentShield – Captcha & Anti-Spam for WordPress (CF7, WPForms, Elementor, WooCommerce) shows at wp.org #11 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 24 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186)
wp.org #1 2 
Contact Form by Supsystic – Drag & Drop Form Builder with Templates & Form Statistics 6K+ · 4.7★ (92)
wp.org #2 3 
Visitor Traffic Real Time Statistics 30K+ · 4.1★ (233)
wp.org #4 1 too low 4 
WS Form LITE – Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (322)
wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 
CF7 Apps – Addons for Contact Form 7 (Honeypot, Database, Redirection, Webhook, etc.) 300K+ · 3.8★ (135)
wp.org #3 2 too high 6 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #5 ↑12 1 too high 7 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #7 ↓1 8 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #8 9 
MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435)
wp.org #9 10 
Form Maker by 10Web – Mobile-Friendly Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder 30K+ · 4.5★ (778)
wp.org #10 ↓3 11 
WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5210)
wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too low 12 
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205)
wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too low 13 
WP Visitor Statistics (Real Time Traffic) 20K+ · 4.5★ (156)
wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too high 14 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2052)
wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too low 15 
Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601)
wp.org #22 7 too low 16 
Contact Form Email 8K+ · 4.3★ (102)
wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too high 17 
Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167)
wp.org #18 1 too low 18 
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551)
wp.org #21 ↑1 3 too low 19 SilentShield – Captcha & Anti-Spam for WordPress (CF7, WPForms, Elementor, WooCommerce) 10K+ · 4.7★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↓1 8 too high 20 
hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88)
wp.org #20 ↑1 21 
Simple Statistics for Feeds 800+ · 4.8★ (58)
wp.org #19 ↑1 2 too high 22 
WP Accessibility 60K+ · 4.8★ (68)
wp.org #24 2 too low 23 
ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #23 24 
Markdown for Agents and Statistics 200+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓1 8 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.