Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 certificate”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

LearnPress – Prerequisites Courses shows at wp.org #6 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Quiz Maker by AYS places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 601 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #1 2 Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (590) wp.org #2 3 WP Encryption: Easy HTTPS / SSL & Free SSL certificate, HTTPS redirect 50K+ · 4.9★ (1146) wp.org #5 ↑6 2 too low 4 LearnPress – WordPress LMS Plugin for Create and Sell Online Courses 70K+ · 4.3★ (597) wp.org #4 5 LifterLMS – WP LMS for eLearning, Online Courses, & Quizzes 10K+ · 4.8★ (393) wp.org #10 ↓2 5 too low 6 MasterStudy LMS WordPress Plugin – for Online Courses and Education 10K+ · 4.5★ (487) wp.org #14 8 too low 7 Uncanny Toolkit for LearnDash 20K+ · 4.8★ (105) wp.org #13 ↑3 6 too low 8 WP Courses LMS – Online Courses Builder, eLearning Courses, Courses Solution, Education Courses 500+ · 4.9★ (22) wp.org #8 ↑1 9 Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601) wp.org #24 15 too low 10 ProfilePress – Paid Membership, Online Courses (LMS), Ecommerce, User Registration & Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content 100K+ · 3.1★ (938) wp.org #15 5 too low 11 Sensei LMS – Online Courses, Quizzes, & Learning 9K+ · 3.5★ (40) wp.org #11 ↑2 12 PressPrimer Certificate – Certificate Designer & Course Certification for Your LMS 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 9 too high 13 WidgetKit for Elementor – Lightweight Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 7K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #20 ↑3 7 too low 14 aBlocks – Gutenberg Blocks, User Dashboard Builder, Popup Builder, Form Builder & Animation Builder 2K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #21 7 too low 15 Fox LMS – eLearning & Course Builder 60+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #19 ↑2 4 too low 16 Creator LMS – WordPress LMS Plugin for Coaches, Cohorts & Course Creators 100+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #22 ↓3 6 too low 17 Edutain Certificate Validator – Certificate Verification, QR Code & Digital Credentials 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 ↑5 10 too high 18 LearnPress – Course Wishlist 10K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #9 ↑1 9 too high 19 Academic Certificate Verification – Certificate Management & Certificate Validator 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 ↑3 7 too high 20 LearnPress – Prerequisites Courses 5K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↑1 14 too high 21 Certify – Certificate Management & Verification 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too high 22 Show Certificates Anywhere for LearnDash 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too high 23 LM Certificate Publisher 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 24 Sensei LMS Certificates 4K+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑1 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.