wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “dashboards”
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 “dashboards”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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
UpdraftCentral Dashboard shows at wp.org #10 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 22 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 27820 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
WP Data Access – App Builder for Tables, Forms, Dashboards, Charts & Maps 10K+ · 4.9★ (88)
wp.org #1 ↑4 2 
Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012)
wp.org #2 3 
MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157)
wp.org #3 4 
WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833)
wp.org #4 ↓3 5 
Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510)
wp.org #6 ↓2 1 too low 6 
BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55)
wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too high 7 
MainWP Dashboard: Self-hosted WordPress Management for Agencies 20K+ · 4.9★ (2354)
wp.org #12 ↑12 5 too low 8 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820)
wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too low 9 
Ultimate Dashboard – Custom WordPress Dashboard 50K+ · 4.6★ (114)
wp.org #8 1 too high 10 
Disable Admin Notices – Hide Dashboard Notifications 100K+ · 4.7★ (367)
wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too low 11 
MainWP Child – Securely Connects to the MainWP Dashboard to Manage Multiple Sites 700K+ · 5.0★ (71)
wp.org #7 4 too high 12 
Connect Matomo – Analytics Dashboard for WordPress 60K+ · 4.5★ (95)
wp.org #9 3 too high 13 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520)
wp.org #24 ↓4 11 too low 14 
Remove Dashboard Access 30K+ · 4.6★ (78)
wp.org #15 ↑1 1 too low 15 
WP Dashboard Notes 20K+ · 4.6★ (110)
wp.org #17 2 too low 16 
Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186)
wp.org #21 ↑2 5 too low 17 UpdraftCentral Dashboard 5K+ · 4.5★ (22) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↑1 7 too high 18 
Dark Mode for WP Dashboard 3K+ · 4.8★ (34)
wp.org #16 ↓6 2 too high 19 
ShareThis Dashboard for Google Analytics 80K+ · 3.6★ (138)
wp.org #19 20 
UiPress lite | Effortless custom dashboards, admin themes and pages 6K+ · 4.1★ (21) thin reviews
wp.org #13 ↑1 7 too high 21 
WooPayments: Integrated WooCommerce Payments 800K+ · 3.4★ (177)
wp.org #23 2 too low 22 
Dashboard Welcome for Elementor 10K+ · 4.1★ (23) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too high 23 
Beehive Analytics – Google Analytics Dashboard 20K+ · 4.5★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #18 5 too high 24 
Crowdsignal Dashboard – Polls, Surveys & more 200K+ · 2.7★ (34)
wp.org #22 2 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.