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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “grade system”

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 “grade system”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Educare – Students & Result Management System shows at wp.org #7 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.6★ average from 24 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

LifterLMS – WP LMS for eLearning, Online Courses, & Quizzes places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 393 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. 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 MasterStudy LMS WordPress Plugin – for Online Courses and Education 10K+ · 4.5★ (487) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (590) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #6 ↓3 2 too low 5 User Switching 200K+ · 4.9★ (238) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Beaver Builder Page Builder – Drag and Drop Website Builder 100K+ · 4.7★ (394) wp.org #10 ↑1 4 too low 7 LearnPress – WordPress LMS Plugin for Create and Sell Online Courses 70K+ · 4.3★ (597) wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too low 8 WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (490) wp.org #12 ↓3 4 too low 9 School Management System – WPSchoolPress 1K+ · 4.0★ (21) wp.org #4 5 too high 10 The School Management – Education & Learning ERP 700+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #5 5 too high 11 Watu Quiz 3K+ · 4.7★ (137) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 LifterLMS – WP LMS for eLearning, Online Courses, & Quizzes 10K+ · 4.8★ (393) wp.org #19 ↓1 7 too low 13 Educare – Students & Result Management System 600+ · 4.6★ (24) wp.org #7 6 too high 14 WCFM Marketplace – Multivendor Marketplace for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.6★ (449) wp.org #20 ↓1 6 too low 15 Better Post & Filter Widgets for Elementor 4K+ · 5.0★ (18) wp.org #9 ↓3 6 too high 16 SecuPress with Simple SSL – Simple and Performant Security 40K+ · 4.1★ (106) wp.org #16 ↓1 17 LazyLoad Plugin – Lazy Load Images, Videos, and Iframes 100K+ · 4.2★ (139) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too low 18 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #14 ↓2 4 too high 19 bbPress Notify (No-Spam) 2K+ · 4.8★ (40) wp.org #23 ↓3 4 too low 20 Atlant Security 800+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too high 21 Zhanzhangb Indexing Submission for Baidu 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 Missed Schedule Post Publisher 6K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 ↓2 2 too low 23 CMS ADMINS Security Check Report 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↑3 2 too high 24 Student Result Management System 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 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.