wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “pdf 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 “pdf form”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

PDF Forms Filler for CF7 shows at wp.org #3 but places #11 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 13 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Formidable Forms – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Payment, Calculator Form & Custom Form Builder places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 1388 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #1 2

PDF Invoices & Packing Slips for WooCommerce 300K+ · 5.0★ (1865) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #2 3

Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4

PDF Embedder – PDF Viewer & Embed PDF Files for WordPress 300K+ · 4.7★ (529) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Database Addon for Contact Form 7 – CFDB7 600K+ · 5.0★ (1875) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6

Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (107) wp.org #6 7

Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8

Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (973) wp.org #11 ↓2 3 too low 9

Bit Form – Contact Form, Payment Forms, Multi Step Forms, Calculator & Custom Form Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (259) wp.org #9 ↑4 10

Formidable Forms – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Payment, Calculator Form & Custom Form Builder 300K+ · 4.8★ (1388) wp.org #15 5 too low 11

PDF Forms Filler for CF7 3K+ · 4.8★ (13) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #3 ↑1 8 too high 12

WS Form LITE – Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder 10K+ · 5.0★ (322) wp.org #16 4 too low 13

Generate PDF using Contact Form 7 4K+ · 4.7★ (40) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too high 14

SureForms – Contact Form Builder, AI Forms, Payment Form, Survey & Quiz 500K+ · 4.8★ (102) wp.org #17 ↓3 3 too low 15 B BSK PDF Manager 7K+ · 4.5★ (46) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #14 1 too high 16

Fluent PDF Generator 20K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #10 6 too high 17

E2Pdf – Export Pdf Tool for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (59) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too low 18

Pdf Embed 10K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too high 19

PDF Generator for WordPress 1K+ · 4.6★ (39) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #24 ↓1 5 too low 20

LukasApps CAPTCHA tools for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.1★ (48) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #23 ↓1 3 too low 21

PDF for Elementor Forms + Drag And Drop Template Builder 1K+ · 3.9★ (11) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓1 22

PDF for Contact Form 7 + Drag and Drop Template Builder 500+ · 5.0★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too high 23

PDF Forms Filler for WPForms 600+ · 2.6★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24

PDF for Gravity Forms + Drag And Drop Template Builder 400+ · 5.0★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓1 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.