WordPress plugin comparison
Essential Form vs WP Mail SMTP by WPForms
Essential Form
by Jose Mortellaro
600+ installs5.0
WP Mail SMTP by WPForms
by Syed Balkhi
4M+ installs4.8
At a glance
- WP Mail SMTP by WPForms has more active installs: 4M+, against 600+ for Essential Form.
- On a typical day, WP Mail SMTP by WPForms is downloaded about 40,526 times, Essential Form about 12.
- Essential Form is rated higher: 5.0 out of 5 from 20 reviews, against 4.8 from 5,214 reviews.
- Essential Form was updated more recently: Nov 6, 2026, against Oct 20, 2026 for WP Mail SMTP by WPForms.
- WP Mail SMTP by WPForms resolves more of its support threads: 83% in the last two months, against 0% for Essential Form.
- Both are tested up to WordPress 7.1.4.
- WP Mail SMTP by WPForms has been around longer: since 2007, against 2023 for Essential Form.
Line by line
WP Mail SMTP by WPForms leads on 5 of 7 comparable lines.
| Metric | Essential Form | WP Mail SMTP by WPForms |
|---|---|---|
| Popular rank | #8,510 | #12 |
| Active installs | 600+ | 4M+ |
| Downloads, last 30 days | 723 | 2.9M |
| Rating | 5.0(20) | 4.8(5.2K) |
| Support threads resolved | 0% | 83% |
| Tested up to | 7.1.4 | 7.1.4 |
| Search multiplier | ×0.58 | ×5.61 |
| Last release | 3 days ago | 20 days ago |
| Requires PHP | 7.2 | 7.4 |
From WordPress.org's public data, refreshed every night. Downloads are WordPress.org's official daily figures for the last 30 days.
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