wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “web 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 “web form”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 5 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
Web Directory plugin Free – AI powered shows at wp.org #10 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.1★ average from 20 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
LiteSpeed Cache places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 2778 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. 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 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220)
wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too low 5 
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) heavy footprint
wp.org #5 6 
Formidable Forms – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Payment, Calculator Form & Custom Form Builder 300K+ · 4.8★ (1387)
wp.org #8 2 too low 7 
Super Progressive Web Apps 40K+ · 4.6★ (225)
wp.org #6 1 too high 8 
MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #4 ↓1 4 too high 9 
Form Maker by 10Web – Mobile-Friendly Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder 30K+ · 4.5★ (778) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 ↑1 10 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too low 11 
SureForms – Contact Form Builder, AI Forms, Payment Form, Survey & Quiz 500K+ · 4.8★ (102)
wp.org #12 ↓4 1 too low 12 
Advanced Form Integration — Connect Forms to 300+ Apps 9K+ · 4.8★ (91)
wp.org #13 1 too low 13 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #15 ↑1 2 too low 14 
Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form, Quiz, Survey & Custom Form Builder with AI 90K+ · 4.9★ (375) heavy footprint
wp.org #22 ↑2 8 too low 15 
OneSignal – Web Push Notifications 60K+ · 4.3★ (360) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too high 16 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #23 ↓1 7 too low 17 
Web Push Notifications – Webpushr 10K+ · 4.7★ (63) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #11 ↑1 6 too high 18 
Subscribe Forms – Beautiful Email Forms, Embedded Newsletter Forms & MailChimp Form 2K+ · 4.7★ (60)
wp.org #17 ↑1 1 too high 19 Web Directory plugin Free – AI powered 300+ · 4.1★ (20) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↑1 9 too high 20 
Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) not PHP-current
wp.org #24 ↓4 4 too low 21 
DTX – Dynamic Text Extension for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.7★ (99) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too high 22 
FormLift for Keap (Legacy) Web Forms 300+ · 4.6★ (12) not PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #19 3 too high 23 
Contact Form to Chat Apps | Click to Chat to Order – FormyChat 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews
wp.org #18 5 too high 24 
Hash Form – Drag & Drop Form Builder 3K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↑2 3 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.