The best Moodle plugins to download in 2026 are Custom Certificate, Configurable Reports, LMSACE Reports, User Bulk Enrolment and SMS Notifier for administration; Level Up! XP, Questionnaire, QuizExport and Zoom Meeting for teaching; the Tiles and Collapsed Topics course formats and the Adaptable, Boost Union or AlmondB themes for look and feel; and the AI Chat Block for an AI tutor. All 15 are free in the official Moodle plugins directory (moodle.org/plugins). Check each one supports your Moodle version and test on staging before installing on your live site.
The 15 best Moodle plugins to download in 2026 (quick list)
Every plugin below is free, open source and listed in the official Moodle plugins directory. Each “Download” link goes to the plugin’s official page, where you pick the release that matches your Moodle version.
| # | Plugin | Use it for | Type | Get it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Custom Certificate | Auto-issue PDF completion certificates | Activity | Download |
| 2 | Configurable Reports | Custom reports without code (or with SQL) | Block | Download |
| 3 | LMSACE Reports | Ready-made admin, teacher and learner dashboards | Report | Download |
| 4 | User Bulk Enrolment | Enrol a list of emails into a course in one go | Local | Download |
| 5 | SMS Notifier | Text reminders and alerts to learners | Block | Download |
| 6 | Level Up! XP | Points, levels and a leaderboard (gamification) | Block | Download |
| 7 | Questionnaire | Surveys, course evaluations, training-needs checks | Activity | Download |
| 8 | QuizExport | Export quiz attempts as PDF | Quiz report | Download |
| 9 | Zoom Meeting | Schedule and launch Zoom classes inside a course | Activity | Download |
| 10 | Tiles format | Show course topics as visual tiles | Course format | Download |
| 11 | Collapsed Topics | Collapsible sections for long courses | Course format | Download |
| 12 | Adaptable | Highly configurable theme with front-page blocks | Theme | Download |
| 13 | Boost Union | Core Boost plus extra branding options | Theme | Download |
| 14 | AlmondB | Marketing-style Boost child theme | Theme | Download |
| 15 | AI Chat Block | An AI tutor block that answers from your content | Block | Download |
Already built into Moodle, no download needed: Badges and the BigBlueButton virtual classroom.
Key takeaways
- Choose plugins by the job they do — administration, teaching or look-and-feel — not by hype.
- Administration: LMSACE Reports + Configurable Reports for analytics, User Bulk Enrolment to onboard fast, Custom Certificate for completion, SMS Notifier for reminders.
- Teaching: Level Up! XP and built-in Badges for motivation, Questionnaire for feedback, QuizExport for PDF records, Zoom for live classes.
- UI/UX: pick one theme (AlmondB, Adaptable or Boost Union) and a tidy course format (Tiles or Collapsed Topics) to kill the “scroll of death”.
- Always check the install count and supported Moodle version before installing — unmaintained plugins are the top cause of broken upgrades.
- For AI, the AI Chat Block adds a tutor to Moodle. edzlms goes further with an AI tutor and course builder and Gelato AI scored roleplay practice.
Why the right Moodle plugins matter in 2026
Moodle ships as a powerful but deliberately lean core. The features that turn it into a modern learning platform — dashboards, certificates, gamification, secure assessment, virtual classrooms and AI — come from plugins. With more than 2,000 add-ons in the official directory, the hard part in 2026 isn’t finding plugins; it’s choosing a lean stack that won’t bloat your site or break on upgrade.
After building and maintaining Moodle sites for clients across corporate and academic training, Mihir Jana and the edzlms team group plugins by the job they do. Below are the picks for administration, teaching and UI/UX, each with its plugin type, how widely it’s installed (live figures from the Moodle plugins directory), and what it actually does. If you’re on an older release, read our guide to upgrading to Moodle 5.0 first — many 2026 plugins need Moodle 4.5+ or 5.x.
Best Moodle plugins for administration
These plugins make the admin’s and manager’s job easier: reporting, enrolment, certification and learner communication.
| Plugin | Type | Installs (sites) | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMSACE Reports | Report | New (2024), growing | Ready-made admin, teacher and student dashboards — site-wide activity, enrolments, course completion and per-user progress without building reports from scratch. |
| Configurable Reports | Block | ~15,500 | Build custom course, user, category and timeline reports — no SQL needed, or write your own SQL. Filters, permissions and export to Excel. The classic Moodle reporting tool. |
| User Bulk Enrolment | Local | ~2,400 | Paste a list of email addresses into a course to enrol many users at once — no CSV upload required. Ideal for teachers onboarding a new cohort quickly. |
| Custom Certificate | Activity | 30,000+ (one of the most-installed) | Design and auto-issue PDF completion certificates in the browser — drag elements, add logos, QR verification codes and grade conditions. Essential for compliance and CPD. |
| SMS Notifier | Block | Niche but handy | Send one-way text messages to learners and staff (class reminders, deadlines, alerts) via gateways such as Twilio, Nexmo/Vonage or Clickatell. |
Best Moodle plugins for teachers
These help instructors motivate learners, gather feedback, run assessments and teach live.
| Plugin | Type | Installs (sites) | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level Up! XP | Block | ~1,700+ | Gamifies a course with experience points, levels, a progress bar and a class ladder. Points are awarded automatically from learner activity, with customisable rules. |
| Badges | Core (built in) | Every Moodle site | Issue Open Badges for course or site achievements — no install needed. Award on activity completion or manually, and let learners push badges to a backpack. |
| Questionnaire | Activity | ~16,000 | Build surveys and feedback forms with many question types — great for course evaluations, training-needs analysis and pre/post checks. |
| QuizExport | Quiz report | ~400 | Export quiz attempts as PDF — a single attempt or a bulk ZIP of many. Useful for audit trails, exam records and offline marking. |
| Zoom Meeting | Activity | 10,000+ | Schedule and launch Zoom meetings inside a course, sync recordings and grade attendance — the go-to plugin where Zoom is the standard for live classes. |
Prefer an open-source virtual classroom? BigBlueButton has shipped in Moodle core since version 4.0, with breakout rooms, whiteboard and recordings built in.
Best Moodle plugins for overall UI & UX
The fastest way to make Moodle feel modern is a good theme plus a clean course format. Pick one theme — don’t stack them.
| Plugin | Type | Installs (sites) | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| AlmondB | Theme | ~3,400 | A Boost child theme with a 100% dynamic front page, 50+ pre-made blocks, unlimited colours and dark/light schemes — a marketing-ready look with little code. |
| Adaptable | Theme | ~17,500 | A highly customisable two-column theme with front-page marketing blocks, layout builders, news ticker and per-profile menus. A long-time favourite for universities and training firms. |
| Boost Union | Theme | ~3,000 | An enhanced child of core Boost that adds the configuration options admins keep asking for — branding, custom fonts, login backgrounds — while staying close to core. |
| Tiles format | Course format | ~21,300 | Displays topics as visual tiles in a grid with icons or photos and animated pop-ups — far more engaging than a long list of links, and fully mobile-responsive. |
| Collapsed Topics | Course format | ~5,200 | Turns each section into a collapsible toggle, solving the “scroll of death” on content-heavy courses. Lightweight and theme-friendly. |
Site and download counts are live figures from the Moodle plugins directory, rounded; core features such as Badges and BigBlueButton ship with Moodle and need no install.
What are the best AI plugins for Moodle?
Moodle’s core AI subsystem (Moodle 4.5+) lets admins plug in AI providers and surface AI actions, and the AI Chat Block (Block, ~2,700 sites) drops a configurable AI tutor onto any course or dashboard, with a “source of truth” so it answers from your content. For a deeper list, see AI plugins for Moodle in 2026.
Where edzlms fits. A chat box is a start, but it can’t build courses or score real practice. edzlms includes an AI tutor and AI course builder, and Gelato AI for scored roleplay practice, so teams rehearse real sales, support and compliance conversations and get feedback.
What are the main Moodle plugin types?
Moodle calls every add-on a plugin, and each one belongs to a type. The type tells you where it shows up and where its folder goes on the server. The ones you will meet most often:
| Plugin type | What it adds | Examples in this list |
|---|---|---|
| Activity module | A new activity or resource learners do inside a course | Custom Certificate, Questionnaire, Zoom Meeting |
| Block | A panel on the dashboard, course page or sidebar | Configurable Reports, Level Up! XP, SMS Notifier, AI Chat Block |
| Theme | The look and layout of the whole site | Adaptable, Boost Union, AlmondB |
| Course format | How sections and activities are laid out on the course page | Tiles, Collapsed Topics |
| Report | Admin or course-level reporting screens | LMSACE Reports, QuizExport (a quiz report) |
| Local plugin | Site-wide features that don't fit another type | User Bulk Enrolment |
| Others | Authentication, enrolment methods, question types, filters, repositories, editors and more | — |
The full list of plugin types is in the Moodle developer documentation (see Sources).
How do I download and install a Moodle plugin?
Download the ZIP for your Moodle version from the plugin’s directory page, then follow these five steps. Always try it on a staging copy first.
- 1Check compatibility
Confirm the plugin lists support for your exact Moodle version and is actively maintained.
- 2Test on staging
Install on a non-production copy first and run a full upgrade to catch conflicts.
- 3Install via Admin
Site administration → Plugins → Install plugins, upload the ZIP and follow the upgrade screen.
- 4Configure & permission
Set the plugin’s settings and grant the right capabilities to teacher and student roles.
- 5Purge caches & verify
Purge all caches, then test the feature as a learner before announcing it.
DIY free plugin stack
- No licence cost
- Full control over every add-on
- You own every upgrade fix
- No built-in AI tutoring or scored roleplay
- Community-forum support only
edzlms
- Reporting, enrolment, assessment and branding already set up
- AI tutor and AI course builder
- Gelato AI roleplay practice with scored feedback
- Upgrades handled for you
- One platform to manage
Need something custom-built?
Need a custom Moodle plugin, report, activity module or workflow built around your process? The edzlms team builds and maintains them. See our Moodle development and support service at /dev-ops-support/, or book a free demo to scope it.
Pro tip
Audit your plugin list at every major upgrade and remove anything no learner outcome depends on. Unused plugins are the number-one cause of slow, fragile Moodle sites.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best plugins for Moodle LMS in 2026?
Start with one plugin per job: Configurable Reports or LMSACE Reports for analytics, User Bulk Enrolment for onboarding, Custom Certificate for completion, Level Up! XP for engagement, Questionnaire for feedback and a live-class tool such as BigBlueButton or Zoom. Add an AI layer only once these basics work.
What are Moodle add-ons?
Add-ons are what Moodle calls plugins: extra activities, blocks, themes, reports and integrations you install on top of core Moodle. The official source is the Moodle plugin directory at moodle.org/plugins.
Where can I download Moodle plugins safely?
Use the official Moodle plugin directory (moodle.org/plugins). Check that the plugin supports your Moodle version, was updated recently and has an active maintainer, and test it on a staging copy before installing it on your live site.
Are Moodle plugins free?
Plugins in the official Moodle plugins directory are open source and free to download. Some connect to paid outside services, for example Zoom or an SMS gateway, which you set up separately.
What are the types of Moodle plugins?
The most common types are activity modules, blocks, themes, course formats, reports and local plugins. There are also authentication, enrolment, question-type, filter, repository and editor plugins, among others.
What are the best Moodle plugins for administrators?
For analytics, LMSACE Reports and Configurable Reports; for onboarding, User Bulk Enrolment; for completion, Custom Certificate; and SMS Notifier for reminders.
What is the best Moodle plugin for teachers?
It depends on the job: Level Up! XP for gamification, Questionnaire for feedback, QuizExport to save attempts as PDF, and Zoom (or core BigBlueButton) for live classes. Badges are built into Moodle core.
Which Moodle theme gives the best UI?
AlmondB, Adaptable and Boost Union are all strong Boost-based themes. Pair your theme with a clean course format such as Tiles or Collapsed Topics. Install only one theme.
Can I export Moodle quiz attempts to PDF?
Yes — the QuizExport plugin exports a single quiz attempt as PDF or many attempts as a ZIP, which is useful for exam records and offline marking.
Does Moodle have AI plugins?
Yes. Moodle 4.5+ has a core AI subsystem, and the AI Chat Block adds a configurable tutor. For AI course-building and scored roleplay practice, edzlms adds an AI tutor and course builder plus Gelato AI.
How many plugins are too many for Moodle?
There is no hard limit, but each plugin adds upgrade and performance overhead. Keep only plugins tied to a real learner or admin outcome.
Will plugins break when I upgrade Moodle?
They can if they are unmaintained. Check the supported Moodle versions on each plugin's directory page, test the upgrade on a staging copy first, and remove plugins you no longer use.
Sources
- Moodle plugins directory (moodle.org)
- Moodle plugin types (Moodle developer documentation)
- Installing plugins (Moodle Docs)
- Badges (Moodle Docs)
Written by Mihir Jana, founder of edzlms.
Related guides
More 2026 Moodle guides
Getting the most from Moodle plugins goes hand in hand with the rest of your stack. These companion guides go deeper:
- AI plugins for Moodle in 2026 - the native AI subsystem plus the best third-party AI plugins.
- Best Moodle themes for 2026 - pair the right plugins with the right theme.
- Moodle performance optimization guide - keep the site fast as you add plugins.
- How much Moodle really costs - budgeting for plugins, hosting and support.
See edzlms in action
Skip the plugin-stitching. Book a demo tailored to your industry and see AI course-building, scored roleplay and reporting working together on one platform.
Choosing what builds the content that runs on these plugins? See how the main eLearning authoring tools compare by use case.