wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “subscribe 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 “subscribe form”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 6 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
Gutenverse Form – Contact Form Builder, Block Form & Booking Form shows at wp.org #5 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 10K+ 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
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin places #11 on merit, 4.4★ from 1445 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.
Subscribe Forms – Beautiful Email Forms, Embedded Newsletter Forms & MailChimp Form 2K+ · 4.7★ (60)
wp.org #1 2 
Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (107)
wp.org #2 3 
Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (973)
wp.org #7 ↓4 4 too low 4 
MailChimp Subscribe Form, Optin Builder, PopUp Builder, Form Builder 2K+ · 4.0★ (65) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too high 5 
User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738)
wp.org #11 ↓2 6 too low 6 
CMP – Coming Soon & Maintenance Plugin by NiteoThemes 200K+ · 4.7★ (326)
wp.org #13 ↑7 7 too low 7 
Contact Form by Supsystic – Drag & Drop Form Builder with Templates & Form Statistics 6K+ · 4.7★ (92)
wp.org #10 ↑9 3 too low 8 
MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress 1M+ · 4.8★ (1497)
wp.org #15 ↓4 7 too low 9 
Mailchimp List Subscribe Form 60K+ · 2.6★ (77) low rating, top placement
wp.org #4 ↑1 5 too high 10 
MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #20 ↓3 9 too low 12 
Advanced Form Integration — Connect Forms to 300+ Apps 9K+ · 4.8★ (91)
wp.org #14 ↓4 2 too low 13 
Back In Stock Notifier for WooCommerce | WooCommerce Waitlist Pro 20K+ · 4.7★ (122) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #12 1 too high 14 
Contact Form by BestWebSoft – Advanced WP Contact Form Builder for WordPress 30K+ · 4.0★ (292)
wp.org #19 ↓5 5 too low 15 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #23 8 too low 16 S Subscribe to Comments 10K+ · 3.9★ (14) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #6 10 too high 17 
Contact Form & SMTP Plugin for WordPress by PirateForms 30K+ · 4.7★ (223) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #24 ↓2 7 too low 18 
Controls for Contact Form 7 (Redirects, Analytics & Tracking) 10K+ · 5.0★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #18 19 
Download After Email – Subscribe & Download Form Plugin 7K+ · 4.4★ (30)
wp.org #22 ↓7 3 too low 20 
Subscribe2 – Form, Email Subscribers & Newsletters 10K+ · 3.5★ (116) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #17 ↓4 3 too high 21 
Contact Form to Chat Apps | Click to Chat to Order – FormyChat 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #16 5 too high 22 
Subscribe to Unlock Lite – Opt In Content Locker Plugin for WordPress 500+ · 3.9★ (10) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↓3 1 too high 23 Gutenverse Form – Contact Form Builder, Block Form & Booking Form 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) heavy footprint thin reviews
wp.org #5 ↑1 18 too high 24 
Easy Subscribe 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↓1 16 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.