wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “order analytics”

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

Ranked above its merit

WooCommerce Analytics shows at wp.org #7 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 816 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.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #1 2

Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #2 3

MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) wp.org #3 ↑1 4

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #4 ↓1 5

GA Google Analytics – Connect Google Analytics to WordPress 400K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #6 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 too high 7

SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (816) wp.org #19 12 too low 8

Plausible Analytics 10K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #9 1 too low 9

CWILL (Formerly ParcelPanel) – Shipment Tracking, Tracking & Order Tracking for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.9★ (538) wp.org #18 9 too low 10

Lara's Google Analytics (GA4) 8K+ · 4.7★ (122) wp.org #13 3 too low 11

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5040) wp.org #23 ↑1 12 too low 12

ExactMetrics – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Plugin) 200K+ · 2.5★ (1546) wp.org #12 13

Search Analytics for WP – Site Search Tracking 3K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #14 1 too low 14

Beehive Analytics – Google Analytics Dashboard 20K+ · 4.5★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #8 6 too high 15

Google Analytics for WooCommerce 100K+ · 2.8★ (119) wp.org #10 5 too high 16

Connect Matomo – Analytics Dashboard for WordPress 60K+ · 4.5★ (95) wp.org #21 5 too low 17

Order On Mobile for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.9★ (66) wp.org #22 5 too low 18

Custom Order Status for WooCommerce 10K+ · 3.3★ (32) wp.org #16 2 too high 19

Goolytics – Simple Google Analytics 3K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #17 2 too high 20

WooCommerce Analytics 20K+ · 4.5★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #7 13 too high 21

HT Easy GA4 – Google Analytics WordPress Plugin 6K+ · 4.5★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #20 1 too high 22

WC Order Analytics Add-on Plugin 80+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #11 11 too high 23

Analytics Tracker 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24

ShinyStat Analytics 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #15 9 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.