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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “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 “stats”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

WP-Stats shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 15 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

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 2131 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3151) wp.org #1 2 Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1009) wp.org #2 3 Jetpack – WP Security, Backup, Speed, & Growth 3M+ · 3.7★ (2407) wp.org #3 4 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – The Most Popular SMTP and Email Log Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (5200) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 WP Server Health Stats 9K+ · 4.8★ (110) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Simple Blog Stats 4K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (166) wp.org #12 ↑3 5 too low 8 StatCounter – Real Time Visitor Stats, Session Replay & Heatmaps 70K+ · 4.1★ (50) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (185) wp.org #15 ↑2 6 too low 10 WP Visitor Statistics (Real Time Traffic) 20K+ · 4.5★ (156) wp.org #14 ↓2 4 too low 11 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 600K+ · 4.8★ (406) wp.org #17 ↑1 6 too low 12 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2131) wp.org #23 11 too low 13 Statify 100K+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #13 ↑3 14 301 Redirects – Redirect Manager 300K+ · 4.7★ (578) wp.org #22 ↑2 8 too low 15 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 600K+ · 4.1★ (757) wp.org #19 ↓5 4 too low 16 ExactMetrics – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Plugin) 300K+ · 2.5★ (1546) wp.org #9 7 too high 17 Seriously Simple Stats 5K+ · 3.6★ (13) wp.org #10 7 too high 18 Connect Matomo – Analytics Dashboard for WordPress 60K+ · 4.5★ (95) wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19 Web-Stat – Live Visitor Analytics 5K+ · 4.4★ (19) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 Posts and Users Stats 600+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #11 9 too high 21 Counters Block – Animated Number Counters, Stats & Dynamic KPIs 3K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #16 ↓2 5 too high 22 Detailed Player Stats for SportsPress 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #18 ↑1 4 too high 23 WP-Stats 2K+ · 2.6★ (7) wp.org #8 15 too high 24 atec Stats 70+ · 5.0★ (2) 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.