wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “mailchimp 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 “mailchimp forms”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 3 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 #7 but places #16 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
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 4132 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 ↑1 4 
Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220)
wp.org #9 ↑1 4 too low 6 
Mailchimp for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.0★ (726) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too high 7 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #8 1 too low 8 
Mailmunch Forms for Mailchimp 10K+ · 4.6★ (372) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #6 2 too high 9 
Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form, Quiz, Survey & Custom Form Builder with AI 90K+ · 4.9★ (375) heavy footprint
wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too low 10 
Connect Contact Form 7 to Mailchimp, Brevo, MailerLite, Klaviyo, GetResponse, EmailOctopus, Campaign Monitor & Moosend 40K+ · 4.3★ (190)
wp.org #12 ↓3 2 too low 11 
Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (107)
wp.org #14 ↑1 3 too low 12 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current
wp.org #17 ↑1 5 too low 13 
Integration for Mailchimp and Contact Form 7, WPForms, Elementor, Ninja Forms 8K+ · 5.0★ (30)
wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too high 14 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #18 4 too low 15 
MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #15 ↓2 16 Mailchimp List Subscribe Form 60K+ · 2.6★ (77)
wp.org #7 9 too high 17 
Invisible Anti-Spam & CAPTCHA — reCAPTCHA Alternative for All Forms 4K+ · 4.8★ (50)
wp.org #16 ↑1 1 too high 18 
Forms for Mailchimp by Optin Cat – Grow Your MailChimp List 2K+ · 4.4★ (77) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 ↑1 7 too high 19 
HTML Forms – Simple WordPress Forms Plugin 10K+ · 4.9★ (57)
wp.org #23 ↓1 4 too low 20 
Gutena Forms – Contact Form, Survey Form, Feedback Form, Booking Form, and Custom Form Builder 20K+ · 4.5★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #19 1 too high 21 
Another Mailchimp Widget 4K+ · 4.6★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #24 3 too low 22 
Quform Mailchimp 700+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓3 23 
WPZOOM Forms – Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder for WordPress 10K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓5 2 too high 24 
Block for Mailchimp – grow your email list with signup forms 2K+ · 3.7★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↑2 4 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.