wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wpforms booking”

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 “wpforms booking”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Cost Calculator for WPForms shows at wp.org #4 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 4755 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. 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

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #2 3

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #5 2 too low 4

Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259) wp.org #7 3 too low 5

Ninja Forms – Contact Form Builder with Calculators, Quizzes, Signatures & AI Form Builder 500K+ · 4.4★ (1397) wp.org #8 3 too low 6

Formidable Forms – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Payment, Calculator Form & Custom Form Builder 300K+ · 4.8★ (1388) wp.org #10 4 too low 7

Advanced Form Integration — Connect Forms to 300+ Apps 9K+ · 4.8★ (91) wp.org #9 2 too low 8

Zoho Flow – No-Code Workflow Automation 5K+ · 5.0★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #6 2 too high 9

Bit integrations – Form Integration, Webhook, Spreadsheets, CRM, LMS & Email Automation 20K+ · 4.9★ (160) wp.org #16 7 too low 10

Invisible Anti-Spam & CAPTCHA — reCAPTCHA Alternative for All Forms 5K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #11 1 too low 11

Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 1M+ · 4.9★ (4755) wp.org #23 12 too low 12

hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88) wp.org #14 2 too low 13

oopspam Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for WordPress Forms & Comments (No CAPTCHA) 6K+ · 4.9★ (51) wp.org #22 9 too low 14

Advanced Datepicker – Restricts Date for WPForms 300+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #3 11 too high 15

SMS Alert – SMS Notifications & OTP Login, COD Verification, Abandoned Cart Recovery 3K+ · 4.6★ (35) wp.org #20 5 too low 16

Secure MCP Server for Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI Agents 8K+ · 5.0★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #18 2 too low 17

WPBean Form Popup for WPForms and Contact Form 7 – Create Popup Forms Easily 600+ · 4.2★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #15 2 too high 18

Cost Calculator for WPForms 100+ · 4.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #4 14 too high 19

YeeMail — Email Template Builder & Customizer 700+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #24 5 too low 20

Appointments Booking for WPForms 20+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #12 8 too high 21

Cal.com 2K+ · 3.7★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #17 4 too high 22

Ultra Addons for WPForms 100+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #13 9 too high 23

Advanced Date Time Field For Contact Form 7, Gravity Forms, WPForms, Elementor & Fluent Forms 80+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #19 4 too high 24

myCred Addons – Ultimate myCred Modules To Support WordPress Gamification and Loyalty Rewards 400+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #21 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.