wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “server stats”

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 “server stats”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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

WP-Stats shows at wp.org #7 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.6★ average from 7 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 5209 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

WP Server Health Stats 9K+ · 4.8★ (110) wp.org #1 2

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #2 ↑1 3

AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too high 5

SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (816) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 ↑4 1 too low 6

WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too low 7

Simple Blog Stats 4K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #5 2 too high 8

FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #8 9

Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too low 10

Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too low 11

Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) not PHP-current wp.org #9 ↓3 2 too high 12

WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #14 2 too low 13

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #21 8 too low 14

Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #23 9 too low 15

301 Redirects – Redirect Manager 300K+ · 4.7★ (578) wp.org #24 9 too low 16

Simple Statistics for Feeds 800+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #18 2 too low 17

Version Info – Server Health Monitor, PHP & MySQL Version Display, Environment Indicators 10K+ · 5.0★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #13 4 too high 18

Web-Stat – Live Visitor Analytics 5K+ · 4.4★ (20) thin reviews wp.org #15 3 too high 19

ExactMetrics – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Plugin) 200K+ · 2.5★ (1546) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too high 20

phpinfo() WP – Site Health, PHP Compatibility & Server Audit 3K+ · 4.5★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #22 2 too low 21

WP-Stats 2K+ · 2.6★ (7) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #7 14 too high 22

atec Stats 70+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↑1 6 too high 23

Jetpack Stats 900+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↑1 4 too high 24

Display Server Info 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓1 4 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.