wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “frontend 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 “frontend forms”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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
Crowdsignal Forms shows at wp.org #9 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 13 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
Frontend Dashboard places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 136 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #1 2 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #2 3 
ACF Frontend Admin by DynamiApps 8K+ · 4.5★ (160) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #3 4 
Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form, Quiz, Survey & Custom Form Builder with AI 90K+ · 4.9★ (375) heavy footprint
wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 
User Frontend – Membership, User Registration, User Profile, User Directory & Content Restriction with Frontend Post Submission 20K+ · 4.1★ (537) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #4 ↑2 1 too high 6 
WCFM – Frontend Manager for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.5★ (286)
wp.org #7 1 too low 7 
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221)
wp.org #12 5 too low 8 
Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) not PHP-current
wp.org #6 ↓1 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 #8 1 too high 10 
Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (107)
wp.org #13 ↑3 3 too low 11 
HTML Forms – Simple WordPress Forms Plugin 10K+ · 4.9★ (57)
wp.org #15 ↓1 4 too low 12 Frontend Dashboard 500+ · 4.9★ (136)
wp.org #18 ↑1 6 too low 13 
Kali Forms — Contact Form & Drag-and-Drop Builder 10K+ · 4.8★ (89) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 2 too high 14 
hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88)
wp.org #21 7 too low 15 
Invisible Anti-Spam & CAPTCHA — reCAPTCHA Alternative for All Forms 4K+ · 4.8★ (50)
wp.org #19 ↑4 4 too low 16 
Frontend Reset Password 10K+ · 4.4★ (38)
wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too low 17 
Gutena Forms – Contact Form, Survey Form, Feedback Form, Booking Form, and Custom Form Builder 20K+ · 4.5★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #10 7 too high 18 
Redirection for Contact Form 7 200K+ · 4.7★ (275) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 2 too low 19 
Frontend Post Submission Manager Lite – Guest Post and Frontend Submission Forms 1K+ · 4.5★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too high 20 
Ninja Forms Views – Display & Edit Ninja Forms Submissions on your site frontend 1K+ · 4.9★ (16) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #24 4 too low 21 
Constant Contact Forms 20K+ · 2.6★ (107)
wp.org #23 ↓6 2 too low 22 Crowdsignal Forms 200K+ · 5.0★ (3) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #9 13 too high 23 
WPZOOM Forms – Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder for WordPress 10K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too high 24 A Airy Frontend Forms 50+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #22 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.