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

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 field”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 3 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

Repeater Fields for WPForms shows at wp.org #4 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 2143 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 wp.org
1 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 4 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #9 5 too low 5 Views for WPForms – Display & Edit WPForms Entries on your site frontend 1K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #7 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 #14 ↓2 8 too low 7 File Upload Types by WPForms 40K+ · 4.0★ (20) wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too high 8 GSheetConnector – WPForms Google Sheets Connector, Save WPForms Lite & PRO Entries to Database & Sheets 7K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too high 9 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #23 ↑1 14 too low 10 File Upload For WPForms – Filenzo 1K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #10 11 Utimate Kit ( Styler ) for WPForms 20K+ · 4.8★ (114) wp.org #17 ↓2 6 too low 12 Database for Contact Form 7, WPforms, Elementor forms 60K+ · 4.8★ (124) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 Repeater Fields for WPForms 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 9 too high 14 Image CAPTCHA for Contact Form 7 and WPForms by HookAndHook (DSGVO/GDPR) 70K+ · 4.7★ (49) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 SilentShield – Captcha & Anti-Spam for WordPress (CF7, WPForms, Elementor, WooCommerce) 10K+ · 4.7★ (24) wp.org #15 ↑5 16 Smart phone field for Gravity Forms 5K+ · 4.2★ (23) wp.org #20 ↑1 4 too low 17 PDF for WPForms + Drag and Drop Template Builder 1K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #8 9 too high 18 Smart Phone Field For WPForms, Contact Form 7, Fluent Forms, Elementor Forms, WooCommerce, Formidable Forms, Ninja Forms 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 ↑1 6 too high 19 Kit (formerly ConvertKit) for WPForms 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 PDF Builder for WPForms 800+ · 4.0★ (8) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 Date Time Picker for WPForms 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↑1 8 too high 22 Advanced Datepicker – Restricts Date for WPForms 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too high 23 PDF Forms Filler for WPForms 600+ · 2.6★ (5) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too high 24 WPSyncSheets For WPForms – Google Sheets Connector for WPForms & Real‑Time Data Export 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓1 6 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.