wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “offline 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 “offline forms”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20.
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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
SureDonation – Donation Forms, Fundraising Campaigns & Donor Management shows at wp.org #10 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty places #12 on merit, 5.0★ from 1244 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.
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 
MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509)
wp.org #3 4 
GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform 100K+ · 4.6★ (708)
wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too low 5 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #5 ↑2 6 
CF7 Apps – Addons for Contact Form 7 (Honeypot, Database, Redirection, Webhook, etc.) 300K+ · 3.8★ (135)
wp.org #4 2 too high 7 
Click to Chat – HoliThemes 600K+ · 4.8★ (131)
wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8 
Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551)
wp.org #8 9 
Charitable – Donation & Fundraising Platform (Donation Forms, Recurring Donations & Fundraising Campaigns) 10K+ · 4.9★ (219)
wp.org #9 ↑1 10 
Form Maker by 10Web – Mobile-Friendly Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder 30K+ · 4.5★ (778)
wp.org #13 3 too low 11 
PWA for WP – Progressive Web Apps Made Simple 10K+ · 4.6★ (230)
wp.org #11 ↓2 12 Floating Chat Widget: Contact Chat Icons, Telegram Chat, Line Messenger, WeChat, Email, SMS, Call Button – Chaty 300K+ · 5.0★ (1244)
wp.org #20 8 too low 13 
Advanced Form Integration — Connect Forms to 300+ Apps 9K+ · 4.8★ (91)
wp.org #12 1 too high 14 
Easy Form Builder by WhiteStudio – Drag & Drop Form Builder 1K+ · 5.0★ (70)
wp.org #14 ↑1 15 
HubSpot All-In-One Marketing – Forms, Popups, Live Chat 200K+ · 4.3★ (207)
wp.org #17 ↓6 2 too low 16 
UserFeedback – Create Interactive Feedback Form, User Surveys, and Polls in Seconds 200K+ · 4.8★ (309)
wp.org #22 ↑1 6 too low 17 
Event Booking Manager for WooCommerce – Sell Tickets, Event Registration, RSVP & Event Calendar 7K+ · 4.5★ (167)
wp.org #23 ↓1 6 too low 18 
WP Time Slots Booking Form 1K+ · 5.0★ (41)
wp.org #21 3 too low 19 
Message Bridge for Contact Form 7 and Telegram 10K+ · 4.3★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #16 ↓2 3 too high 20 
Event Genius – Event Calendar, Event Registration, and Attendee Management 600+ · 4.8★ (17) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too high 21 
Contact Form Widget – Responsive Contact Form, Query Form & Form Builder 1K+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #15 ↑1 6 too high 22 
Icegram Collect – Easy Contact Form, Subscription Form & Lead Collection Plugin for WordPress 2K+ · 4.7★ (30)
wp.org #24 2 too low 23 
Contact Form to Chat Apps | Click to Chat to Order – FormyChat 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #19 4 too high 24 SureDonation – Donation Forms, Fundraising Campaigns & Donor Management 4K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↑8 14 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.