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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “stats 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 “stats counter”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 of the top 20. 5 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

WPS Visitor Counter shows at wp.org #7 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.9★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 2528 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 Post Views Counter 100K+ · 4.9★ (1237) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Post Pay Counter 1K+ · 4.8★ (46) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #9 ↑1 6 too low 4 SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (816) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 WP Visitor Statistics (Real Time Traffic) 20K+ · 4.5★ (156) wp.org #11 ↓2 6 too low 6 Page Visits Counter – Lite 5K+ · 4.0★ (7) wp.org #2 ↓1 4 too high 7 StatCounter – Real Time Visitor Stats, Session Replay & Heatmaps 70K+ · 4.2★ (56) wp.org #10 ↓2 3 too low 8 Koko Analytics – Privacy-Friendly WordPress Analytics 70K+ · 5.0★ (245) wp.org #21 13 too low 9 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #23 14 too low 10 Simple Download Monitor 20K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #20 ↑3 10 too low 11 Visitor Traffic Real Time Statistics 30K+ · 4.1★ (233) wp.org #19 ↓1 8 too low 12 Counters Block – Animated Number Counters, Stats & Dynamic KPIs 3K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #6 ↓1 6 too high 13 Counter Number Showcase, Fun Facts – WordPress Animated Counter Plugin 10K+ · 4.6★ (190) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too low 14 Counter Box – Add Countdowns, Timers & Dynamic Counters to WordPress 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #5 ↑1 9 too high 15 Mega Addons For WPBakery Page Builder 20K+ · 4.2★ (57) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 Web-Stat – Live Visitor Analytics 5K+ · 4.4★ (20) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too high 17 WP Counter Up – Animated Number Counter & Milestone Showcase 1K+ · 4.0★ (5) wp.org #4 13 too high 18 Trace My IP – Visitor IP Tracker, Stats Analytics & Page Views Counter with Email Alerts 1K+ · 4.5★ (21) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too high 19 Wp Post Views – WordPress Post views counter 4K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #12 ↓1 7 too high 20 Post views Stats 900+ · 3.5★ (15) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too high 21 WPS Visitor Counter 10K+ · 3.9★ (8) wp.org #7 14 too high 22 Kama Click Counter 800+ · 3.9★ (9) wp.org #18 ↓2 4 too high 23 Blockenberg — 645 Advanced Gutenberg Blocks, 683 Templates and AI Agent for WordPress Block Editor 1K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #24 ↓5 1 too low 24 Weblix Analytics – Real-Time Stats & Visitor Counter 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 7 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.