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

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 database”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 4 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

Entry Manager for WPForms – Save Form Entries to Database & Export shows at wp.org #10 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 13 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

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 3220 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. 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

Database Addon For WPForms ( wpforms entries ) – WPFormsDB 20K+ · 5.0★ (131) wp.org #3 ↓2 4

Database for Contact Form 7, WPforms, Elementor forms 60K+ · 4.8★ (124) wp.org #4 ↓1 5

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6

FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #6 ↓1 7

Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #9 ↑3 2 too low 8

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #13 ↓2 5 too low 9

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #14 ↑2 5 too low 10

GSheetConnector – WPForms Google Sheets Connector, Save WPForms Lite & PRO Entries to Database & Sheets 7K+ · 4.6★ (18) thin reviews wp.org #5 ↓1 5 too high 11

Views for WPForms – Display & Edit WPForms Entries on your site frontend 1K+ · 5.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too high 12

Form Vibes – Save Contact Form 7 & Elementor Form Entries to Database 10K+ · 4.9★ (132) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too low 13

WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (490) wp.org #21 ↓7 8 too low 14

Download Monitor 80K+ · 4.5★ (525) wp.org #23 ↓2 9 too low 15

WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #22 ↑1 7 too low 16

Image CAPTCHA for Contact Form 7 and WPForms by HookAndHook (DSGVO/GDPR) 70K+ · 4.7★ (49) wp.org #15 ↓2 1 too high 17

GSheetConnector – CF7 Google Sheets Connector & Save CF7 Entries to Database 40K+ · 4.4★ (129) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #12 ↓2 5 too high 18

Simply Static – The Static Site Generator 30K+ · 4.5★ (195) wp.org #24 ↓2 6 too low 19

Contact Form & SMTP Plugin for WordPress by PirateForms 30K+ · 4.7★ (223) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too high 20

Tablesome Table – Contact Form DB – WPForms, CF7, Gravity, Forminator, Fluent 7K+ · 4.8★ (89) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #17 ↑2 3 too high 21

SilentShield – Captcha & Anti-Spam for WordPress (CF7, WPForms, Elementor, WooCommerce) 10K+ · 4.7★ (24) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓3 10 too high 22

EntryDashboard – Database Addon & Sync for WPForms, CF7, Elementor & More 50+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #20 2 too high 23

Entry Manager for WPForms – Save Form Entries to Database & Export 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↓1 13 too high 24

Mail Manager for WPForms ( wpforms entries ) – Database for wpforms 10+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓1 5 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.