Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “education”

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 “education”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 6 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 Education – Education WordPress Plugin for Elementor shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

GEO Plugin by Squirrly SEO places #12 on merit, 4.6★ from 683 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 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #1 ↑2 2 Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (590) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 MasterStudy LMS WordPress Plugin – for Online Courses and Education 10K+ · 4.5★ (487) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too high 5 LearnPress – WordPress LMS Plugin for Create and Sell Online Courses 70K+ · 4.3★ (597) wp.org #5 ↓1 6 Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514) wp.org #16 10 too low 7 Booking for Appointments and Events Calendar – Amelia 90K+ · 4.6★ (793) wp.org #15 8 too low 8 Online Scheduling and Appointment Booking System – Bookly 60K+ · 4.4★ (586) wp.org #14 ↓2 6 too low 9 Uncanny Toolkit for LearnDash 20K+ · 4.8★ (105) wp.org #12 ↑2 3 too low 10 Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 The School Management – Education & Learning ERP 700+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 GEO Plugin by Squirrly SEO 30K+ · 4.6★ (683) wp.org #24 ↓9 12 too low 13 WP Courses LMS – Online Courses Builder, eLearning Courses, Courses Solution, Education Courses 500+ · 4.9★ (22) wp.org #7 ↑1 6 too high 14 Interactive Content – H5P 40K+ · 4.8★ (61) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 Redirection for Contact Form 7 200K+ · 4.7★ (275) wp.org #20 5 too low 16 WP Docs 1K+ · 4.8★ (18) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 SMNTCS Custom Logo Link 2K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #17 18 TP Education 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 ↓1 10 too high 19 Resume Builder 1K+ · 4.4★ (17) wp.org #22 ↓3 3 too low 20 Layouts for WPBakery 3K+ · 4.4★ (9) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Layouts for Divi 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #19 ↑1 2 too high 22 WP Education – Education WordPress Plugin for Elementor 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 12 too high 23 WP Events Manager 30K+ · 2.7★ (13) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too high 24 LearnPress – Prerequisites Courses 5K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 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.