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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “student progress”

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 “student progress”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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.

Ranked above its merit

Tutor LMS – Migration Tool shows at wp.org #7 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Formidable Forms – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Payment, Calculator Form & Custom Form Builder places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 1387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. 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 MasterStudy LMS WordPress Plugin – for Online Courses and Education 10K+ · 4.5★ (487) wp.org #3 4 LifterLMS – WP LMS for eLearning, Online Courses, & Quizzes 10K+ · 4.8★ (393) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 FluentCommunity – Ultra-Fast High-Performance Social Network, Community, LMS & Online Courses 8K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 LearnPress – WordPress LMS Plugin for Create and Sell Online Courses 70K+ · 4.3★ (597) wp.org #6 7 Cool Timeline (Horizontal & Vertical Timeline) 20K+ · 4.7★ (333) wp.org #11 ↑2 4 too low 8 Uncanny Toolkit for LearnDash 20K+ · 4.8★ (105) wp.org #10 ↑7 2 too low 9 Formidable Forms – Contact Form, Survey, Quiz, Payment, Calculator Form & Custom Form Builder 300K+ · 4.8★ (1387) wp.org #21 ↑1 12 too low 10 ProfilePress – Paid Membership, Online Courses (LMS), Ecommerce, User Registration & Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content 100K+ · 3.1★ (938) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 Sensei LMS – Online Courses, Quizzes, & Learning 9K+ · 3.5★ (40) wp.org #5 6 too high 12 WPComplete 1K+ · 4.1★ (43) wp.org #13 ↓4 1 too low 13 GamiPress – Gamification plugin to reward points, badges & ranks in WordPress, now with AI 10K+ · 4.9★ (493) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 WP Map Block – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Store & Shop Locator, Directory, Listings & Filters 20K+ · 4.0★ (20) wp.org #12 ↑2 2 too high 15 Creator LMS – WordPress LMS Plugin for Coaches, Cohorts & Course Creators 100+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #16 ↓6 1 too low 16 Paymattic – Secure, Simple Payment & Donation with Subscription Payments, Recurring Donations, Customer Management 3K+ · 4.8★ (44) wp.org #24 ↑1 8 too low 17 WP Courses LMS – Online Courses Builder, eLearning Courses, Courses Solution, Education Courses 500+ · 4.9★ (22) wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too high 18 Edwiser Bridge – WordPress Moodle Integration 4K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19 Fox LMS – eLearning & Course Builder 60+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #19 ↑2 20 Timeline Module for Divi 3K+ · 4.8★ (9) wp.org #15 ↑1 5 too high 21 Tutor LMS – Migration Tool 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #7 14 too high 22 Acadlix LMS – AI Quiz Maker, Online Exam & Course Plugin for WordPress 30+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↑2 23 Dashboard for Pressbooks and H5P 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too high 24 Manual Completions for LearnDash 200+ · 2.5★ (2) wp.org #18 ↓1 6 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.