wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “mailchimp form”
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 “mailchimp form”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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
Mailchimp List Subscribe Form shows at wp.org #5 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 60K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.6★ average from 77 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 973 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. 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 
MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress 1M+ · 4.8★ (1497)
wp.org #2 3 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #3 4 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #7 3 too low 5 
Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (107)
wp.org #6 ↑2 1 too low 6 
Mailchimp for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.0★ (726) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #4 2 too high 7 
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220)
wp.org #11 4 too low 8 
Connect Contact Form 7 to Mailchimp, Brevo, MailerLite, Klaviyo, GetResponse, EmailOctopus, Campaign Monitor & Moosend 40K+ · 4.3★ (190)
wp.org #9 ↓4 1 too low 9 
Subscribe Forms – Beautiful Email Forms, Embedded Newsletter Forms & MailChimp Form 2K+ · 4.7★ (60)
wp.org #8 ↑1 1 too high 10 Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (973)
wp.org #17 ↓7 7 too low 11 
Bit Form – Contact Form, Payment Forms, Multi Step Forms, Calculator & Custom Form Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (259)
wp.org #14 3 too low 12 
Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397)
wp.org #15 3 too low 13 
Mailmunch Forms for Mailchimp 10K+ · 4.6★ (372) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #10 ↑2 3 too high 14 Mailchimp List Subscribe Form 60K+ · 2.6★ (77) low rating, top placement
wp.org #5 ↑1 9 too high 15 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current
wp.org #18 ↓2 3 too low 16 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #24 8 too low 17 
Integration for Mailchimp and Contact Form 7, WPForms, Elementor, Ninja Forms 8K+ · 5.0★ (30)
wp.org #12 ↑1 5 too high 18 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #19 1 too low 19 
MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #16 ↑3 3 too high 20 
Forms for Mailchimp by Optin Cat – Grow Your MailChimp List 2K+ · 4.4★ (77) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #13 ↑1 7 too high 21 
Another Mailchimp Widget 4K+ · 4.6★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #22 1 too low 22 
Quform Mailchimp 700+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓3 1 too high 23 
Block for Mailchimp – grow your email list with signup forms 2K+ · 3.7★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #20 3 too high 24 
Gutenverse Form – Contact Form Builder, Block Form & Booking Form 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) heavy footprint thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↓2 1 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.