wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wordpress contact”
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 “wordpress contact”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 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
Constant Contact Forms shows at wp.org #13 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.6★ average from 107 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 4229 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.
Contact Form 7 10M+ · 4.0★ (2186)
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 
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820)
wp.org #3 4 
Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144)
wp.org #4 5 
Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962)
wp.org #6 1 too low 6 
MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157)
wp.org #5 1 too high 7 
Database Addon for Contact Form 7 – CFDB7 600K+ · 5.0★ (1875)
wp.org #8 1 too low 8 
Calculated Fields Form – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact, Payment, Quote, Quiz & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (973)
wp.org #9 1 too low 9 
Ultra Addons for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (108)
wp.org #7 2 too high 10 
Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859)
wp.org #10 11 
BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323)
wp.org #11 ↑1 12 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4229)
wp.org #16 ↑1 4 too low 13 
Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (808)
wp.org #15 2 too low 14 
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205)
wp.org #19 ↑1 5 too low 15 
Contact Form by BestWebSoft – Advanced WP Contact Form Builder for WordPress 30K+ · 4.0★ (292)
wp.org #14 1 too high 16 
MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress 1M+ · 4.8★ (1497)
wp.org #18 2 too low 17 
Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186)
wp.org #17 ↓1 18 
CF7 Apps – Addons for Contact Form 7 (Honeypot, Database, Redirection, Webhook, etc.) 300K+ · 3.8★ (135)
wp.org #12 ↓1 6 too high 19 
Database for Contact Form 7, WPforms, Elementor forms 60K+ · 4.8★ (124)
wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too low 20 
Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167)
wp.org #22 2 too low 21 
WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184)
wp.org #23 2 too low 22 
SilentShield – Captcha & Anti-Spam for WordPress (CF7, WPForms, Elementor, WooCommerce) 10K+ · 4.7★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #21 1 too high 23 
LukasApps CAPTCHA tools for Contact Form 7 100K+ · 4.1★ (48)
wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Constant Contact Forms 20K+ · 2.6★ (107)
wp.org #13 11 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.