wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “pageviews”

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 “pageviews”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 3 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

PageViews Counter shows at wp.org #2 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 399 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #1 ↑2 2

Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3

Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1237) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4

WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #5 ↑6 1 too low 5

CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3236) wp.org #7 2 too low 6

SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (816) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 ↑2 7

Koko Analytics – Privacy-Friendly WordPress Analytics 70K+ · 5.0★ (245) wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too low 8

Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing 40K+ · 4.9★ (399) wp.org #13 ↑4 5 too low 9

Statify 100K+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #8 ↓4 1 too high 10

Fast Velocity Minify 30K+ · 4.6★ (195) wp.org #12 ↑3 2 too low 11

WPConsent – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for Privacy Compliance (GDPR / CCPA / EU Compliance Cookie Notice) 200K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #11 ↑2 12

MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #10 ↓4 2 too high 13

WP ULike – Like Buttons, Voting & Engagement Analytics 60K+ · 4.8★ (283) wp.org #18 ↓6 5 too low 14

OMGF | GDPR/DSGVO Compliant, Faster Google Fonts. Easy. 300K+ · 4.7★ (213) wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too low 15

Ajax Search Lite – Live Search & Filter 70K+ · 4.8★ (266) wp.org #20 ↑2 5 too low 16

Boxzilla – WordPress Popup Builder 20K+ · 4.8★ (133) wp.org #19 ↓3 3 too low 17

PageViews Counter 100+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #2 ↓1 15 too high 18

Icegram Engage – Popups, Welcome Bars, Optins, Slide-Ins & Lead Generation for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (370) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #17 1 too high 19

WPLP Cookie Consent – Cookie Banner & Consent Management for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode 9K+ · 4.6★ (51) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #14 5 too high 20

CAOS | Host Google Analytics Locally 10K+ · 4.9★ (128) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #21 ↓3 1 too low 21

Powered Cache – Caching and Optimization for WordPress – Easily Improve PageSpeed & Web Vitals Score 3K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #23 2 too low 22

Index WP MySQL For Speed 50K+ · 4.8★ (99) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #22 23

Best Rating & Pageviews 10+ · 4.3★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓7 7 too high 24

YAHMAN Add-ons 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #24 ↓4

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.