wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “click statistics”
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 “click statistics”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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 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
Click Counter and Heat Maps (Free) shows at wp.org #5 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 200+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 8708 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186)
wp.org #1 2 
WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758)
wp.org #2 3 
WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209)
wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408)
wp.org #3 ↑3 1 too high 5 
Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433)
wp.org #8 ↑3 3 too low 6 
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #6 ↓2 7 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #7 ↑1 8 
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #12 ↑5 4 too low 9 
Contact Form by Supsystic – Drag & Drop Form Builder with Templates & Form Statistics 6K+ · 4.7★ (92)
wp.org #9 ↓2 10 
Call Now Button – The Free Click to Call Button for WordPress 200K+ · 4.8★ (102)
wp.org #11 ↓1 1 too low 11 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708)
wp.org #19 8 too low 12 
Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167)
wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too low 13 
Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1237)
wp.org #23 10 too low 14 
Koko Analytics – Privacy-Friendly WordPress Analytics 70K+ · 5.0★ (245)
wp.org #20 ↑3 6 too low 15 
MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) heavy footprint
wp.org #17 ↓5 2 too low 16 
Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) not PHP-current
wp.org #21 5 too low 17 
Simple Statistics for Feeds 800+ · 4.8★ (58)
wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too high 18 
Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #18 19 
ThirstyAffiliates – Affiliate Links, Link Branding, Link Tracking & Marketing Plugin 30K+ · 4.6★ (251)
wp.org #24 5 too low 20 
Right Click Ban – Disable Right Click & Content Copy Protection 400+ · 4.3★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #13 7 too high 21 Click Counter and Heat Maps (Free) 200+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviewslow rating, top placement
wp.org #5 16 too high 22 
Virusdie | One-click website security 2K+ · 4.0★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↑2 23 
Markdown for Agents and Statistics 200+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↓1 13 too high 24 
Smart Click Tracker 300+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
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.