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Essential Form – The lightest plugin for contact forms, ultra lightweight and no spam

v1.0.4

by Jose Mortellaro · updated 2 days ago

The lightest contact form for WordPress. It's so essential you'll either love it or hate it. Ultra lightweight and no spam.

anti-spamcontact formemailleightweightlight
WordPress.org SaveAnalyze reviews Track this plugin
Rank
#8,529
Down45 vs yesterday
Active installs (est.)
≈ 610
600+ reported · High
Total downloads
7.6K
7,634 all-time
Rating
5.0/5
20 reviews
Support resolved
0%
0 of 1 threads, last 2 months
Growing·Downloads +57.1% (30d)·Toward 700+ · ETA ~8d

Essential Form at a glance

Essential Form is a WordPress plugin by Jose Mortellaro with 600+ active installs, the #8,529 most popular plugin on WordPress.org. On a typical day it’s downloaded about 12 times, 57% more than the month before. It’s rated 5.0 out of 5 from 20 reviews. Version 1.0.4 came out on Nov 6, 2026 and is tested up to WordPress 7.1.4. It leads the 13 plugins tagged “light”. It was first released in 2023.

Chart time range

Applies to every chart below. History from Oct 9, 2026, 31 days.

Showing the last 30 days. Full history comes with any paid plan.See plans

Downloads over time

Download stats

700 downloads · the last 30 days

Downloads over time
Essential Form Compare series
Downloads over time: 30 days across 1 series.0100200300Oct 9Oct 14Oct 19Oct 24Oct 28Nov 2Nov 7Oct 29, 2026: Tested up to 7.1.4
View as table
DateEssential Form
Nov 7, 2026329
Nov 6, 202665
Nov 5, 202617
Nov 4, 202611
Nov 3, 20267
Nov 2, 202611
Nov 1, 202614
Oct 31, 202612
Oct 30, 20268
Oct 29, 202612
Oct 28, 202612
Oct 27, 20269
Oct 26, 202613
Oct 25, 202611
Oct 24, 202618
Oct 23, 20267
Oct 22, 202613
Oct 21, 202611
Oct 20, 20267
Oct 19, 202618
Oct 18, 20268
Oct 17, 202611
Oct 16, 20267
Oct 15, 20269
Oct 14, 20268
Oct 13, 202612
Oct 12, 20268
Oct 11, 20267
Oct 10, 202614
Oct 9, 202611

Unusual spikes are usually updates, not new installs.

Estimated installs

≈ 610 · +4.1% in the last 30 days

Estimated installs
Estimated installs: 12 days across 1 series.580600Oct 27Oct 29Oct 31Nov 2Nov 4Nov 8Oct 29, 2026: Tested up to 7.1.4
View as table
DateEstimated installs
Nov 8, 2026610
Nov 7, 2026613
Nov 5, 2026609
Nov 4, 2026607
Nov 3, 2026607
Nov 2, 2026605
Nov 1, 2026604
Oct 31, 2026603
Oct 30, 2026569
Oct 29, 2026603
Oct 28, 2026568
Oct 27, 2026586

Rank over time

#8,529 · up 47 in the last 30 days

Popular rank
Popular rank: 13 days across 1 series.#8.5K#8.6KOct 27Oct 29Oct 31Nov 2Nov 4Nov 6Nov 8Oct 29, 2026: Tested up to 7.1.4
View as table
DateDaily snapshot
Nov 8, 2026#8,529
Nov 7, 2026#8,484
Nov 6, 2026#8,509
Nov 5, 2026#8,493
Nov 4, 2026#8,514
Nov 3, 2026#8,499
Nov 2, 2026#8,504
Nov 1, 2026#8,524
Oct 31, 2026#8,522
Oct 30, 2026#8,548
Oct 29, 2026#8,543
Oct 28, 2026#8,580
Oct 27, 2026#8,576

Growth %

Average +0.34% a day in the last 30 days

Growth %, day over day
Growth %, day over day: 11 days across 1 series.-5%0%5%Oct 28Oct 30Nov 1Nov 4Nov 8
View as table
DateGrowth
Nov 8, 2026-0.49%
Nov 7, 2026+0.33%
Nov 5, 2026+0.33%
Nov 4, 20260.00%
Nov 3, 2026+0.33%
Nov 2, 2026+0.17%
Nov 1, 2026+0.17%
Oct 31, 2026+5.97%
Oct 30, 2026-5.64%
Oct 29, 2026+6.16%
Oct 28, 2026-3.07%

Active installs band

600+ on WordPress.org

Active installs (rounded band)
Active installs (rounded band): 13 days across 1 series.500550600Oct 27Oct 29Oct 31Nov 2Nov 4Nov 6Nov 8Oct 29, 2026: Tested up to 7.1.4
View as table
DateDaily snapshot
Nov 8, 2026600+
Nov 7, 2026600+
Nov 6, 2026600+
Nov 5, 2026600+
Nov 4, 2026600+
Nov 3, 2026600+
Nov 2, 2026600+
Nov 1, 2026600+
Oct 31, 2026600+
Oct 30, 2026500+
Oct 29, 2026600+
Oct 28, 2026500+
Oct 27, 2026500+

Search rankings

Where it appears in WordPress.org search for the searches you track, checked every day.

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Change log

From our daily snapshot of WordPress.org
  1. So far:Rank #8509 → #8529
    • Released 1.0.4 (was 1.0.2)
  2. Rank #8580 → #8493Downloads +9.1%Installs 500+ → 600+
    • Tested up to 7.1.3 → 7.1.4

Versions in use

Share of active installs on each published version, from WordPress.org.

  • v1.0100%

Rating trend

5.0★★★★★20 reviews · up 0.1 in the last 30 days

Requirements & info

Version history
Version
1.0.4
Requires WordPress
6.0
Tested up to
7.1.4
Requires PHP
7.2
First released
Feb 28, 2023
Last updated
Nov 6, 2026
Releases, last 12 months
…

Questions about Essential Form

How many websites use Essential Form?

Essential Form is active on 600+ WordPress sites, as WordPress.org reports it. WordPress.org rounds the number down, so the real count is somewhat higher. That makes it the #8,529 most popular plugin on WordPress.org.

How many times has Essential Form been downloaded?

7,634 times in total since 2023. On a typical day it’s downloaded about 12 times. See download stats

When was Essential Form last updated?

Version 1.0.4 came out on Nov 6, 2026 (2 days ago).

Is Essential Form compatible with the latest WordPress?

Yes. It’s tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current version.

Is Essential Form still maintained?

Yes. Its last release was 2 days ago. Its authors resolved 0 of the 1 support threads opened in the last two months.

What rating does Essential Form have?

5.0 out of 5 from 20 reviews on WordPress.org. 95% of them give 5 stars.

What are the best alternatives to Essential Form?

The plugins most like Essential Form, by the tags they share, are Akismet Anti-spam (5M+), ActiveLayer Anti-Spam (10K+) and Contact Form 7 (10M+). Compare all alternatives

Latest reviews

Analyze reviews
All reviews on WordPress.org

Review stats

5.0

★★★★★

20 reviews

  • 5 stars: 19 reviews, 95%
  • 4 stars: 1 reviews, 5%
  • 3 stars: 0 reviews, 0%
  • 2 stars: 0 reviews, 0%
  • 1 stars: 0 reviews, 0%
Positive
100%4–5★
Mixed
0%3★
Critical
0%1–2★
  • Each new 1★ review takes 79 five-star reviews to balance out.

Compare with competitors

Add up to 1 competitor. No account needed.

Starter · 1 competitor
Essential Form
Suggested:
Metric
Essential Form
Estimated installs≈ 610
Reported installs600+
Rating5.0
Reviews20
Total downloads7.6K
AuthorJose Mortellaro
First releasedFeb 28, 2023
Version1.0.4
Requires WP6.0
Requires PHP7.2
Last updatedNov 6, 2026

Alternatives to Essential Form

Compare all alternatives

Popular plugins with the same tags, the most in common first.

Side by side:Essential Form vs Akismet Anti-spamEssential Form vs ActiveLayer Anti-SpamEssential Form vs Contact Form 7

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