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

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 “instructor”, 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

LearnPress – Prerequisites Courses shows at wp.org #5 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 17 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

FluentCommunity – Ultra-Fast High-Performance Social Network, Community, LMS & Online Courses places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 96 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 ↑1 2 Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (590) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 LearnPress – WordPress LMS Plugin for Create and Sell Online Courses 70K+ · 4.3★ (597) wp.org #3 4 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 MasterStudy LMS WordPress Plugin – for Online Courses and Education 10K+ · 4.5★ (487) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 LifterLMS – WP LMS for eLearning, Online Courses, & Quizzes 10K+ · 4.8★ (393) wp.org #12 ↓1 6 too low 7 Simply Schedule Appointments 50K+ · 5.0★ (155) wp.org #11 ↑3 4 too low 8 Easy Appointments 10K+ · 4.3★ (131) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 aBlocks – Gutenberg Blocks, User Dashboard Builder, Popup Builder, Form Builder & Animation Builder 2K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #9 ↑1 10 ProfilePress – Paid Membership, Online Courses (LMS), Ecommerce, User Registration & Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content 100K+ · 3.1★ (938) wp.org #15 ↑4 5 too low 11 FluentCommunity – Ultra-Fast High-Performance Social Network, Community, LMS & Online Courses 8K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #19 ↓1 8 too low 12 MooWoodle – WordPress Moodle LMS Integration, Sell Moodle Courses via WooCommerce 800+ · 4.3★ (39) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too low 13 Fox LMS – eLearning & Course Builder 60+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #20 ↑2 7 too low 14 WidgetKit for Elementor – Lightweight Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 7K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 Admin Bar Editor – Toolbar Customization with User Role based access & Custom menus 3K+ · 4.4★ (24) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 Tutor LMS – Migration Tool 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 ↓1 6 too high 17 LearnPress – Backup & Migration Tool 5K+ · 3.0★ (16) wp.org #14 ↓2 3 too high 18 Booktics – Appointment Booking Calendar for Service Businesses 700+ · 4.2★ (13) wp.org #22 ↓2 4 too low 19 LearnPress – Course Wishlist 10K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #7 12 too high 20 Tutor LMS Elementor Addons 30K+ · 3.5★ (8) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too high 21 Cal.com 2K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #8 13 too high 22 LearnPress – Prerequisites Courses 5K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 ↓1 17 too high 23 Thim Kit for Elementor – Pre-built Templates & Widgets for Elementor 20K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Yoga Schedule Momoyoga 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) 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.