Which WordPress form plugin should you use with Mailchimp?
Most WordPress form plugins can reach Mailchimp. But the differences are real: what tier you have to buy, and whether the connection is built in or bolted on. Below is what each one actually does, with install counts and ratings pulled from WordPress.org on 29 August 2026.
Two things surprise people. Contact Form 7 has ten million installs and no Mailchimp support at all. Gravity Forms is not on WordPress.org either, so you cannot compare it on the same numbers as everything else.
The short answer
If you already run Contact Form 7, add a connector and keep the forms you have. If you are starting from nothing and want Mailchimp working on the free tier, Forminator and Everest Forms both list it in their free integrations. If budget is not the constraint, then WPForms and Fluent Forms have the smoothest setup, though both put Mailchimp behind a paid plan.
The plugins, by install base
| Plugin | Active installs | Rating | Mailchimp |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact Form 7 | 10,000,000 | 80/100 | none built in |
| WPForms Lite | 5,000,000 | 96/100 | paid add-on |
| Fluent Forms | 700,000 | 96/100 | paid tier |
| Forminator | 600,000 | 96/100 | listed as an integration |
| Ninja Forms | 600,000 | 88/100 | paid extension |
| Formidable Forms | 300,000 | 96/100 | paid tier |
| Everest Forms | 90,000 | 98/100 | listed as an integration |
| Gravity Forms | not on WordPress.org | n/a | paid add-on |
Ratings are out of 100 and come from the WordPress.org plugin API. Contact Form 7 sits lowest at 80 across 2,178 ratings, which says more about a decade of support expectations than about the plugin.
Contact Form 7
Search its readme for “Mailchimp” and you get nothing. There is no integration and there never has been, because the plugin does one job and leaves the rest to add-ons.
So the ten million sites running it need a connector. That is the gap ClickSyncr’s Mailchimp integration fills, along with MC4WP and a handful of others. You keep the forms you already built and add the sync.
WPForms Lite
Five million installs and a 96 rating across 14,369 ratings, which is the strongest satisfaction signal in the table. Mailchimp is an add-on, and the readme links to it with a campaign tag aimed at Lite users, so you can read that as an upsell path rather than a free feature.
Worth it if you are building forms from scratch and want everything in one dashboard.
Fluent Forms
Fast, and the admin is genuinely pleasant. Mailchimp is in the paid tier. Still, at 700,000 installs with a 96 rating, it is the strongest of the newer builders.
Forminator and Everest Forms
Both list Mailchimp among their free integrations. Everest Forms has the highest rating in the table at 98, though from only 375 ratings, so treat that as a smaller sample rather than a better plugin.
These are the two to look at first if you want Mailchimp working without paying.
Ninja Forms and Formidable Forms
Both put Mailchimp behind a paid extension. Ninja Forms carries an 88 rating, the second lowest here. Formidable is strong at 96, so it is the better pick of the two if you need calculations or views alongside your forms.
Gravity Forms
Not distributed through WordPress.org, so there is no public install count or rating to compare. It is commercial only, and Mailchimp needs the add-on that comes with the higher licence. Plenty of agencies swear by it. In short, you cannot benchmark it against the rest of this table.
Where ClickSyncr fits
ClickSyncr connects Contact Form 7, WPForms, Gravity Forms, Ninja Forms, Fluent Forms and Formidable to Mailchimp and about twenty other platforms. It is the right answer in one specific case: you already have forms you do not want to rebuild, and the plugin you use either has no Mailchimp support or hides it behind a plan you do not need otherwise.
If you are starting fresh and happy inside one vendor’s ecosystem, buy their tier instead. The same question for Klaviyo has a much shorter answer, which is worth reading if you use both. Fewer moving parts is worth something, after all.
Questions people actually ask
Does Contact Form 7 have a Mailchimp integration? No. Its readme does not mention Mailchimp anywhere. You need a connector plugin.
Can I use Mailchimp with a free form plugin? Yes. Forminator and Everest Forms both list Mailchimp in their free integrations. For Contact Form 7, you add a free connector instead.
Will double opt-in still work? Yes, and it is controlled in Mailchimp, not in the form plugin. If subscribers are landing as pending, that is your audience setting.
Why do my submissions reach the site but not Mailchimp? Almost always the API key or the wrong audience ID. Check the audience first, because most people have more than one and pick the wrong one.