wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “free forms”
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 “free forms”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 2 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
Crowdsignal Forms shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 200K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Auto-Install Free SSL – Generate & Install Free SSL Certificates places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 405 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★ (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 1 too low 3 
Contact Form 7 10M+ · 4.0★ (2186)
wp.org #2 1 too high 4 
Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397)
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #5 6 
Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form, Quiz, Survey & Custom Form Builder with AI 90K+ · 4.9★ (375) heavy footprint
wp.org #7 1 too low 7 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint
wp.org #8 1 too low 8 
Superb Addons: Blocks, Patterns, Pre-built Pages, Sliders, Popups, Free Forms, Animations & More 80K+ · 4.9★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #6 2 too high 9 
MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 10 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #14 4 too low 11 Auto-Install Free SSL – Generate & Install Free SSL Certificates 8K+ · 4.9★ (405)
wp.org #20 ↑1 9 too low 12 
HTML Forms – Simple WordPress Forms Plugin 10K+ · 4.9★ (57)
wp.org #15 ↑1 3 too low 13 
Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (107)
wp.org #18 ↑6 5 too low 14 
hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88)
wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too low 15 
Free Shipping Label and Progress Bar for WooCommerce 5K+ · 5.0★ (43) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #12 3 too high 16 
Gravity Forms Zero Spam 100K+ · 4.3★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too high 17 
SureForms – Contact Form Builder, AI Forms, Payment Form, Survey & Quiz 500K+ · 4.8★ (102)
wp.org #23 ↓10 6 too low 18 
Gutena Forms – Contact Form, Survey Form, Feedback Form, Booking Form, and Custom Form Builder 20K+ · 4.5★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #11 7 too high 19 
Kali Forms — Contact Form & Drag-and-Drop Builder 10K+ · 4.8★ (89) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #22 ↑1 3 too low 20 
Web Directory plugin Free – AI powered 300+ · 4.1★ (20) thin reviews
wp.org #19 ↑1 1 too high 21 
Cognito Forms 2K+ · 4.0★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #24 3 too low 22 Crowdsignal Forms 200K+ · 5.0★ (3) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #10 12 too high 23 
Zoho Forms – Drag & Drop Form Builder for Websites – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Order Forms & More 10K+ · 2.7★ (14) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too high 24 
WPZOOM Forms – Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder for WordPress 10K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↑1 7 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.