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← Rankings

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

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 “teachers”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 2 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

Yoga Schedule Momoyoga shows at wp.org #3 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Appointment Booking Plugin – LatePoint | Calendar & Scheduling for WordPress places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 106 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #1 2 Simply Schedule Appointments 50K+ · 5.0★ (155) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 MasterStudy LMS WordPress Plugin – for Online Courses and Education 10K+ · 4.5★ (487) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 LifterLMS – WP LMS for eLearning, Online Courses, & Quizzes 10K+ · 4.8★ (393) wp.org #9 5 too low 5 Issues and Series for Newspapers, Magazines, Publishers, Writers 2K+ · 4.5★ (73) wp.org #5 ↓3 6 HD Quiz 6K+ · 4.9★ (145) wp.org #14 ↑1 8 too low 7 Responsive Team Members Showcase, Team Grid, Team Slider, and Staff List – Smart Team (formerly WP Team) 5K+ · 4.7★ (92) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 Educare – Students & Result Management System 600+ · 4.6★ (24) wp.org #8 9 Appointment Booking Plugin – LatePoint | Calendar & Scheduling for WordPress 100K+ · 4.9★ (106) wp.org #22 13 too low 10 School Management System – WPSchoolPress 1K+ · 4.0★ (21) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 Voice Audio Widgets – Voice recorder with Forms, AI Powered STT, TTS, Transcriptions, Language Teaching 300+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #11 12 Appointment Bookings for Zoom GoogleMeet and more – Wappointment 1K+ · 4.7★ (50) wp.org #18 6 too low 13 The School Management – Education & Learning ERP 700+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Sensei LMS – Online Courses, Quizzes, & Learning 9K+ · 3.5★ (40) wp.org #7 7 too high 15 Timetics – Appointment Booking Calendar & Scheduling 2K+ · 4.6★ (36) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 Yoga Schedule Momoyoga 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 ↑1 13 too high 17 My Private Site – Make Your Whole Site Private, Force Login & Block Registration Spam 10K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Virtual Classroom & Video Conferencing – BigBlueButton 400+ · 4.6★ (10) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too high 19 Team Builder Member Showcase 1K+ · 3.8★ (4) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 VerifyPass Community ID 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 PuzzleMe – Interactive Puzzles for WordPress – Easily publish crosswords, quizzes, word searches and more 1K+ · 4.0★ (3) wp.org #23 ↑1 2 too low 22 PressPrimer Assignment – Homework Submission, Document Viewer & LMS Grading Workflows 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 Easy File Upload & Approval – A Simple File Submission & Review System 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 O Online Lesson Booking 500+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #16 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.