wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “form widget”
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 widget”, 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
Contact Form Widget – Responsive Contact Form, Query Form & Form Builder shows at wp.org #11 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Rich Showcase for Google Reviews places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 1623 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. 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 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current
wp.org #3 ↑2 4 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #4 5 
ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051)
wp.org #5 ↑2 6 
Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397)
wp.org #6 ↑5 7 
Bit Form – Contact Form, Payment Forms, Multi Step Forms, Calculator & Custom Form Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (259)
wp.org #7 ↑16 8 
Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680)
wp.org #8 ↑1 9 
Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (973)
wp.org #9 ↓3 10 Rich Showcase for Google Reviews 100K+ · 4.9★ (1623)
wp.org #20 10 too low 11 
Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528)
wp.org #16 ↑4 5 too low 12 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #12 ↑1 13 
Widget Options – Advanced Conditional Visibility for Gutenberg Blocks & Classic Widgets 100K+ · 4.9★ (1516)
wp.org #21 ↓2 8 too low 14 
Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215)
wp.org #17 ↑7 3 too low 15 
Contact Form by Supsystic – Drag & Drop Form Builder with Templates & Form Statistics 6K+ · 4.7★ (92)
wp.org #14 1 too high 16 
MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #13 ↑2 3 too high 17 
Contact Form by BestWebSoft – Advanced WP Contact Form Builder for WordPress 30K+ · 4.0★ (292)
wp.org #19 ↓3 2 too low 18 
Black Studio TinyMCE Widget 200K+ · 4.8★ (191)
wp.org #23 ↓1 5 too low 19 
CF7 Apps – Addons for Contact Form 7 (Honeypot, Database, Redirection, Webhook, etc.) 300K+ · 3.8★ (135) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #10 ↓2 9 too high 20 
SiteOrigin Widgets Bundle 400K+ · 4.9★ (134)
wp.org #24 4 too low 21 
Input Mask For Elementor Form Fields 10K+ · 4.5★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓6 3 too high 22 Contact Form Widget – Responsive Contact Form, Query Form & Form Builder 1K+ · 5.0★ (10) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↓1 11 too high 23 
Cool FormKit Lite – Advanced Form Builder for Elementor 20K+ · 4.6★ (25) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↓1 8 too high 24 
Conditional Fields for Elementor Form – Apply Conditional Logic 10K+ · 4.7★ (32) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #22 ↓1 2 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.