wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “ninja 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 “ninja forms”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 4 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
GSheetConnector – Ninja Forms Google Sheets Connector, Export Form Submissions Instant Sync to Sheets shows at wp.org #9 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 1497 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397)
wp.org #1 2 
WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387)
wp.org #2 3 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807)
wp.org #3 4 
Ninja Tables – Easy Data Table Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (472)
wp.org #4 5 
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220)
wp.org #8 ↓2 3 too low 6 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #6 ↑8 7 
Security Ninja – WordPress Security & Firewall 7K+ · 4.7★ (101)
wp.org #7 ↑2 8 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #10 ↓2 2 too low 9 
Ninja Forms Views – Display & Edit Ninja Forms Submissions on your site frontend 1K+ · 4.9★ (16) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #5 4 too high 10 
Download Monitor 80K+ · 4.5★ (525)
wp.org #20 10 too low 11 
Integration for HubSpot and Contact Form 7, WPForms, Elementor, Ninja Forms 5K+ · 4.9★ (53)
wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too low 12 MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress 1M+ · 4.8★ (1497)
wp.org #23 11 too low 13 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) not PHP-current
wp.org #21 ↑1 8 too low 14 
hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88)
wp.org #17 3 too low 15 
Spam Protection | Maspik 30K+ · 4.7★ (87)
wp.org #18 ↓2 3 too low 16 
Integration for Mailchimp and Contact Form 7, WPForms, Elementor, Ninja Forms 8K+ · 5.0★ (30)
wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too high 17 
Invisible Anti-Spam & CAPTCHA — reCAPTCHA Alternative for All Forms 4K+ · 4.8★ (50)
wp.org #15 2 too high 18 
Integration for Pipedrive and Contact Form 7, WPForms, Elementor, Ninja Forms 1K+ · 5.0★ (26)
wp.org #19 ↑4 1 too low 19 
WP Zoho for Contact Form 7, WPForms, Elementor, Formidable and Ninja Forms – CRM, Bigin 3K+ · 5.0★ (44) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #16 ↑3 3 too high 20 
Integration for Salesforce and Contact Form 7, WPForms, Elementor, Formidable, Ninja Forms 1K+ · 5.0★ (61) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #22 ↑2 2 too low 21 
Smart Phone Field For WPForms, Contact Form 7, Fluent Forms, Elementor Forms, WooCommerce, Formidable Forms, Ninja Forms 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) not PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↓1 10 too high 22 
Ninja Forms Signature Contract Add-On 300+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews
wp.org #14 ↓1 8 too high 23 GSheetConnector – Ninja Forms Google Sheets Connector, Export Form Submissions Instant Sync to Sheets 1K+ · 4.0★ (4) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #9 ↓2 14 too high 24 
Integration for Google Sheets and Contact Form 7, WPForms, Elementor, Ninja Forms 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #24 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.