wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “course builder”

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 “course builder”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 7 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

WP Courses LMS – Online Courses Builder, eLearning Courses, Courses Solution, Education Courses shows at wp.org #5 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.9★ average from 22 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #1 2

Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (590) heavy footprint wp.org #2 3

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #3 4

User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738) wp.org #4 5

FunnelKit – Funnel Builder Plugin for WooCommerce Checkout 30K+ · 5.0★ (1028) wp.org #8 3 too low 6

Fluent Forms – Customizable Contact Forms, Survey, Quiz, & Conversational Form Builder 800K+ · 4.8★ (807) wp.org #6 ↓1 7

Website Builder by SeedProd — Theme Builder, Landing Page Builder, Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode 600K+ · 4.9★ (4699) wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too low 8

Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514) wp.org #11 ↑2 3 too low 9

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #12 ↑3 3 too low 10

LearnPress – WordPress LMS Plugin for Create and Sell Online Courses 70K+ · 4.3★ (597) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #7 ↑1 3 too high 11

LifterLMS – WP LMS for eLearning, Online Courses, & Quizzes 10K+ · 4.8★ (393) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too low 12

CartFlows – Funnel Builder & Checkout Plugin for WooCommerce 200K+ · 4.8★ (517) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #9 ↑5 3 too high 13

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #18 ↑3 5 too low 14

WP Courses LMS – Online Courses Builder, eLearning Courses, Courses Solution, Education Courses 500+ · 4.9★ (22) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #5 ↑4 9 too high 15

MasterStudy LMS WordPress Plugin – for Online Courses and Education 10K+ · 4.5★ (487) heavy footprint wp.org #17 ↑4 2 too low 16

Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) heavy footprint wp.org #19 3 too low 17

aBlocks – Gutenberg Blocks, User Dashboard Builder, Popup Builder, Form Builder & Animation Builder 2K+ · 5.0★ (26) heavy footprint wp.org #15 2 too high 18

MetForm – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Conditional Forms, Form Templates & Custom Form Builder for Elementor 500K+ · 4.7★ (509) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #21 3 too low 19

Fox LMS – eLearning & Course Builder 60+ · 5.0★ (19) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too high 20

FluentCommunity – Ultra-Fast High-Performance Social Network, Community, LMS & Online Courses 8K+ · 4.8★ (96) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #24 4 too low 21

ProfilePress – Paid Membership, Online Courses (LMS), Ecommerce, User Registration & Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content 100K+ · 3.1★ (938) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #23 2 too low 22

Nias course | دوره ساز نیاس 200+ · 5.0★ (4) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #22 23

LearnPress – Course Wishlist 10K+ · 3.7★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #20 ↑4 3 too high 24

LearnPress – Prerequisites Courses 5K+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #16 ↑3 8 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.