wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “date 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 “date counter”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 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 #23 on merit, a gap of 20 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
Duplicate Post places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 1623 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1238)
wp.org #1 2 
WP Date and Time Shortcode 10K+ · 4.9★ (31)
wp.org #2 ↑1 3 
Post Pay Counter 1K+ · 4.8★ (46)
wp.org #5 2 too low 4 
Wp Social Login and Register Social Counter 70K+ · 4.6★ (67)
wp.org #6 2 too low 5 
Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1526)
wp.org #14 ↑1 9 too low 6 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #12 ↑1 6 too low 7 
Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872)
wp.org #11 4 too low 8 
Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680)
wp.org #16 ↑2 8 too low 9 
Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132)
wp.org #17 ↓1 8 too low 10 
Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167)
wp.org #15 ↑2 5 too low 11 Duplicate Post 300K+ · 4.9★ (1623)
wp.org #22 ↓2 11 too low 12 
Counter Box – Add Countdowns, Timers & Dynamic Counters to WordPress 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #4 8 too high 13 
Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528)
wp.org #23 10 too low 14 
Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154)
wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too low 15 
Simple Download Monitor 20K+ · 4.7★ (158)
wp.org #19 ↑3 4 too low 16 
Estimated delivery date per product for WooCommerce 300+ · 4.3★ (83)
wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too high 17 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333)
wp.org #24 7 too low 18 
Date counter 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviewsstale but ranked
wp.org #9 ↓1 9 too high 19 
Trace My IP – Visitor IP Tracker, Stats Analytics & Page Views Counter with Email Alerts 1K+ · 4.5★ (21) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↑1 1 too low 20 
WP Counter Up – Animated Number Counter & Milestone Showcase 1K+ · 4.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #7 ↑2 13 too high 21 
WPS Visitor Counter 10K+ · 3.9★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #8 ↓1 13 too high 22 
Custom Order Numbers for WooCommerce 20K+ · 4.2★ (25)
wp.org #21 ↓7 1 too high 23 Light Views Counter – Fast, Scalable View Counter for High-Traffic Sites 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #3 ↓1 20 too high 24 
Click Counter and Heat Maps (Free) 200+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #10 14 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.