wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “forms generator”
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 “forms generator”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 6 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
WPZOOM Forms – Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder for WordPress shows at wp.org #10 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Formidable Forms – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Payment, Calculator Form & Custom Form Builder places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 1388 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. 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★ (2144)
wp.org #1 2 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #2 3 
XML Sitemap Generator for Google 1M+ · 4.8★ (2233)
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 
SureForms – Contact Form Builder, AI Forms, Payment Form, Survey & Quiz 500K+ · 4.8★ (102)
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (107)
wp.org #5 ↑1 6 
Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form, Quiz, Survey & Custom Form Builder with AI 90K+ · 4.9★ (375) heavy footprint
wp.org #6 ↓1 7 
Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (973)
wp.org #14 7 too low 8 Formidable Forms – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Payment, Calculator Form & Custom Form Builder 300K+ · 4.8★ (1388)
wp.org #16 8 too low 9 
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 #11 2 too low 10 
MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too high 11 
Data Tables Generator by Supsystic – Excel-like, WooCommerce & Pricing Tables 10K+ · 4.7★ (497)
wp.org #19 ↓1 8 too low 12 
Kaya QR Code Generator 10K+ · 4.4★ (38)
wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too high 13 
CF7 Apps – Addons for Contact Form 7 (Honeypot, Database, Redirection, Webhook, etc.) 300K+ · 3.8★ (135) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #7 ↑3 6 too high 14 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #21 7 too low 15 
Simply Static – The Static Site Generator 30K+ · 4.5★ (195)
wp.org #20 ↓1 5 too low 16 
WP Child Theme Generator 20K+ · 4.7★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #12 4 too high 17 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #23 6 too low 18 
Contact Form Generator : Creative form builder for WordPress 700+ · 4.4★ (67) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #13 5 too high 19 
Bulk Page Generator and Mass Page Builder – Page Generator 3K+ · 4.6★ (70) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 4 too high 20 
PDF Generator for WordPress 1K+ · 4.6★ (39) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #17 3 too high 21 
CF7 Mate – Contact Form 7 Styler, Multi-Step Forms & Conditional Logic 20K+ · 3.9★ (46) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 3 too high 22 
PDF Forms Filler for CF7 3K+ · 4.8★ (13) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #24 ↓2 2 too low 23 WPZOOM Forms – Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder for WordPress 10K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↓1 13 too high 24 
SMK Sidebar Generator 10K+ · 4.4★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓2 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.