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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “access counter”

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 “access counter”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Light Views Counter – Fast, Scalable View Counter for High-Traffic Sites shows at wp.org #3 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 19 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 2528 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1238) wp.org #1 2 Access Governance for WordPress (aka AAM) 100K+ · 4.2★ (420) wp.org #2 3 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too low 4 Post Pay Counter 1K+ · 4.8★ (46) wp.org #4 5 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #9 ↓2 4 too low 6 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too low 8 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1526) wp.org #13 ↑2 5 too low 9 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #15 ↓1 6 too low 10 AddToAny Share Buttons 300K+ · 4.7★ (1114) wp.org #18 ↑1 8 too low 11 Beaver Builder Page Builder – Drag and Drop Website Builder 100K+ · 4.7★ (394) wp.org #21 ↑3 10 too low 12 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #24 12 too low 13 Simple Download Monitor 20K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #19 ↓3 6 too low 14 Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) wp.org #20 ↓2 6 too low 15 Element Pack Addons for Elementor – MCP & AI-Ready Elementor Widgets, Elementor Templates, Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.7★ (284) wp.org #23 8 too low 16 Easy Table of Contents 600K+ · 4.4★ (221) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 WebberZone Top 10 — Popular Posts 10K+ · 4.6★ (102) wp.org #22 5 too low 18 Trace My IP – Visitor IP Tracker, Stats Analytics & Page Views Counter with Email Alerts 1K+ · 4.5★ (21) wp.org #14 ↓2 4 too high 19 WPS Visitor Counter 10K+ · 3.9★ (8) wp.org #6 ↓1 13 too high 20 WP Views Counter 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #11 ↓2 9 too high 21 Kama Click Counter 800+ · 3.9★ (9) wp.org #12 ↓2 9 too high 22 Light Views Counter – Fast, Scalable View Counter for High-Traffic Sites 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 19 too high 23 Word Counter Plus 80+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↑13 16 too high 24 KolorWeb Access Admin Notification: extreme rescue for unauthorized admin logins 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↓3 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.