wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wpform to api”

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 “wpform to api”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Connect WPForm to Any API shows at wp.org #3 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 100+ 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

All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 5231 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.

merit plugin signals wp.org

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #1 2

WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #2 3

FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #9 ↓1 5 too low 5

Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #7 ↑6 2 too low 6

Contact Form to Any API 8K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #5 1 too high 7

Database for Contact Form 7, WPforms, Elementor forms 60K+ · 4.8★ (124) wp.org #10 ↓1 3 too low 8

SilentShield – Captcha & Anti-Spam for WordPress (CF7, WPForms, Elementor, WooCommerce) 10K+ · 4.7★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #6 2 too high 9

Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10

WPGet API – Connect to any external REST API 10K+ · 5.0★ (32) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too high 11

All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #20 ↓4 9 too low 12

Custom API for WP 1K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too high 13

WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (199) wp.org #19 ↓1 6 too low 14

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4229) wp.org #23 9 too low 15

Download Monitor 80K+ · 4.5★ (525) wp.org #22 7 too low 16

MC4WP: Mailchimp for WordPress 1M+ · 4.8★ (1497) wp.org #24 ↓1 8 too low 17

Integration for HubSpot and Contact Form 7, WPForms, Elementor, Ninja Forms 5K+ · 4.9★ (53) wp.org #16 ↑1 1 too high 18

Tablesome Table – Contact Form DB – WPForms, CF7, Gravity, Forminator, Fluent 7K+ · 4.8★ (89) wp.org #21 3 too low 19

Integration for Mailchimp and Contact Form 7, WPForms, Elementor, Ninja Forms 8K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #17 ↑2 2 too high 20

GSheetConnector – WPForms Google Sheets Connector, Save WPForms Lite & PRO Entries to Database & Sheets 7K+ · 4.6★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓1 7 too high 21

Connect WPForm to Any API 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #3 ↑1 18 too high 22

PDF Builder for WPForms 800+ · 4.0★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #15 7 too high 23

PDF for WPForms + Drag and Drop Template Builder 1K+ · 4.5★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↑2 5 too high 24

Kit (formerly ConvertKit) for WPForms 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #14 10 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.