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

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 “lessons”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 5 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.

O

Ranked above its merit

Online Lesson Booking shows at wp.org #13 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

LifterLMS – WP LMS for eLearning, Online Courses, & Quizzes places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 393 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. 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 Uncanny Toolkit for LearnDash 20K+ · 4.8★ (105) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 MasterStudy LMS WordPress Plugin – for Online Courses and Education 10K+ · 4.5★ (487) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 LearnPress – WordPress LMS Plugin for Create and Sell Online Courses 70K+ · 4.3★ (597) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 Simply Schedule Appointments 50K+ · 5.0★ (155) wp.org #8 ↑5 2 too low 7 WP Activity Log 300K+ · 4.7★ (490) wp.org #11 ↓6 4 too low 8 FluentCommunity – Ultra-Fast High-Performance Social Network, Community, LMS & Online Courses 8K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too high 9 LifterLMS – WP LMS for eLearning, Online Courses, & Quizzes 10K+ · 4.8★ (393) wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too low 10 ProfilePress – Paid Membership, Online Courses (LMS), Ecommerce, User Registration & Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content 100K+ · 3.1★ (938) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 Events Manager – Calendar, Bookings, Tickets, Appointments and more! 60K+ · 4.2★ (551) wp.org #12 ↓2 1 too low 12 Presto Player 100K+ · 4.8★ (346) wp.org #17 5 too low 13 WPComplete 1K+ · 4.1★ (43) wp.org #18 ↓2 5 too low 14 Sensei LMS – Online Courses, Quizzes, & Learning 9K+ · 3.5★ (40) wp.org #9 5 too high 15 WP Courses LMS – Online Courses Builder, eLearning Courses, Courses Solution, Education Courses 500+ · 4.9★ (22) wp.org #15 ↓1 16 Enable Abilities for MCP 5K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #21 ↓1 5 too low 17 Easy Image Collage 3K+ · 4.7★ (22) wp.org #23 ↓2 6 too low 18 Autocomplete LearnDash Lessons and Topics 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 ↓3 8 too high 19 PowerPack for LearnDash 1K+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #19 ↓1 20 Tutor LMS – Migration Tool 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 ↓1 21 Livid – Video Hosting 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 CM Video Lessons Manager – Simplify video lessons management for better education 30+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #14 ↓2 8 too high 23 E EasySecure Import Export Courses Learndash 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 O Online Lesson Booking 500+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓2 11 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.