Global Setting vs Custom Variables

Head-to-head on the signals that matter, from the public WordPress.org data.

Global Setting

by victor4g

Health D44

Custom Variables

by lili0allen

Health D43

Active-install trajectory

Global SettingCustom Variables

Active installs, each indexed to 100 at the start of the window. A line above 100 is growing its install base, below 100 is shrinking.

Metric	Global Setting	Custom Variables
Active installs Modeled from the public "N+" band and recent downloads.	100–200 ✓	70–80
Install trend Change in active installs across the charted window.	0% ✓	-22%
Overall health	D · 44 ✓	D · 43
Maintenance How recently the plugin was updated.	3/100	3/100
Rating quality Volume-adjusted review quality.	73/100 ✓	70/100
Support Share of forum threads marked resolved.	70/100	70/100
Rating (weighted for review count)	3.9★ ✓	3.8★
Reviews	4 ✓	1
Ranking optimization How well the listing is tuned to rank on wp.org.	36/100	36/100
Removal risk Maintenance signals that precede a wp.org closure. Not an official status.	High	High
Last updated	13.7y ago	11.8y ago ✓
Downloads · 30d	80 ✓	75
Install conversion Active installs over lifetime downloads. Downloads include every update, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower.	2.8% ✓	2.1%
Category	Uncategorized	Uncategorized

✓ marks the stronger plugin on each row. Rows where they're level show no marker.

Release activity

Global SettingCustom Variables

7-day average daily downloads. Downloads spike for about a week after each release as the install base re-downloads, so read this as release cadence, not growth.