wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “developer tools 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 “developer tools counter”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 4 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.
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
Light Views Counter – Fast, Scalable View Counter for High-Traffic Sites shows at wp.org #4 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 18 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
Element Pack Addons for Elementor – MCP & AI-Ready Elementor Widgets, Elementor Templates, Elementor Addons places #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 284 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1237)
wp.org #2 1 too low 2 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint
wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 
Page Visits Counter – Lite 5K+ · 4.0★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #1 2 too high 4 
Kadence Blocks — Page Builder Toolkit for Gutenberg Editor 600K+ · 4.8★ (333) heavy footprint
wp.org #6 ↑3 2 too low 5 
Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1526)
wp.org #12 ↑8 7 too low 6 
Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167)
wp.org #8 ↑4 2 too low 7 
Filter Everything — WordPress & WooCommerce Filters 50K+ · 4.6★ (154)
wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too low 8 
Simple Download Counter 2K+ · 4.9★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #5 3 too high 9 
Easy Table of Contents 600K+ · 4.4★ (221)
wp.org #11 ↑3 2 too low 10 
WebberZone Top 10 — Popular Posts 10K+ · 4.6★ (102)
wp.org #13 ↑4 3 too low 11 
404 to 301 – Redirect Manager, 301 Redirection, 404 Error Logs & 404 Monitoring 100K+ · 4.7★ (321)
wp.org #19 ↑4 8 too low 12 Element Pack Addons for Elementor – MCP & AI-Ready Elementor Widgets, Elementor Templates, Elementor Addons 100K+ · 4.7★ (284)
wp.org #21 ↑3 9 too low 13 
AddToAny Share Buttons 300K+ · 4.7★ (1114) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #16 3 too low 14 
Getwid – Gutenberg Blocks 50K+ · 4.7★ (115)
wp.org #18 ↑4 4 too low 15 
SportsPress – Sports Club & League Manager 10K+ · 4.7★ (369) not PHP-current
wp.org #20 ↓5 5 too low 16 
Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too high 17 
TI WooCommerce Wishlist 100K+ · 4.7★ (503) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #22 5 too low 18 
Download Plugins and Themes in ZIP from Dashboard 30K+ · 4.9★ (27)
wp.org #23 5 too low 19 
Yoast Test Helper 50K+ · 4.9★ (12) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #17 ↑2 2 too high 20 
WP Views Counter 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #10 10 too high 21 
Duplicate Post – duplicate pages, copy content, clone posts 5K+ · 4.7★ (7) thin reviews
wp.org #15 6 too high 22 Light Views Counter – Fast, Scalable View Counter for High-Traffic Sites 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #4 ↓1 18 too high 23 
Animated Number Counters 2K+ · 3.4★ (5) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews
wp.org #7 16 too high 24 
Weblix Analytics – Real-Time Stats & Visitor Counter 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #24 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.