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

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 “wp lms”, 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.

Ranked above its merit

Sensei LMS – Online Courses, Quizzes, & Learning shows at wp.org #5 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 9K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 40 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 3221 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 signals wp.org

Masteriyo LMS – LMS Course Builder, Quizzes & Certificates 6K+ · 4.8★ (184) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #1 2

Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution 100K+ · 4.4★ (590) heavy footprint wp.org #2 3

WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #3 4

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #4 5

LifterLMS – WP LMS for eLearning, Online Courses, & Quizzes 10K+ · 4.8★ (393) wp.org #6 1 too low 6

MasterStudy LMS WordPress Plugin – for Online Courses and Education 10K+ · 4.5★ (487) heavy footprint wp.org #8 2 too low 7

Easy WP SMTP – WordPress SMTP and Email Logs: Gmail SMTP, Office 365, Outlook, Custom SMTP, and more 500K+ · 4.6★ (709) wp.org #9 2 too low 8

LearnPress – WordPress LMS Plugin for Create and Sell Online Courses 70K+ · 4.3★ (597) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #7 1 too high 9

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #16 7 too low 10

Import and export users and customers 70K+ · 4.7★ (259) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too low 11

hCaptcha for WP 70K+ · 4.6★ (88) wp.org #10 1 too high 12

WP Ultimate CSV Importer – WordPress CSV, XML & Excel Import Export 20K+ · 4.4★ (593) wp.org #15 3 too low 13

Bit integrations – Form Integration, Webhook, Spreadsheets, CRM, LMS & Email Automation 20K+ · 4.9★ (160) wp.org #18 5 too low 14

Sensei LMS – Online Courses, Quizzes, & Learning 9K+ · 3.5★ (40) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #5 9 too high 15

LoginPress | wp-login Custom Login Page Customizer 200K+ · 4.8★ (1077) not PHP-current wp.org #24 9 too low 16

Eventin – Events Calendar, Tickets, Registration, Booking & WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.7★ (413) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #17 1 too low 17

ProfilePress – Paid Membership, Online Courses (LMS), Ecommerce, User Registration & Login Form, User Profile & Restrict Content 100K+ · 3.1★ (938) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #11 ↓1 6 too high 18

Fox LMS – eLearning & Course Builder 60+ · 5.0★ (19) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #12 ↑1 6 too high 19

FluentCommunity – Ultra-Fast High-Performance Social Network, Community, LMS & Online Courses 8K+ · 4.8★ (96) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too low 20

WP Courses LMS – Online Courses Builder, eLearning Courses, Courses Solution, Education Courses 500+ · 4.9★ (22) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #14 6 too high 21

WP Map Block – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Store & Shop Locator, Directory, Listings & Filters 20K+ · 4.0★ (20) thin reviews wp.org #19 2 too high 22

Lite LMS Progress Tracker by LifterLMS – Simple Course, Membership Site and Content Progress Tracking for WordPress 300+ · 4.7★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #22 23

Reviews for Tutor LMS 300+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #20 3 too high 24

MasterStudy LMS Divi Modules 200+ · 3.5★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #23 1 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.