wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “web 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 “web stats”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

ExactMetrics – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Plugin) shows at wp.org #5 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 200K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.5★ average from 1546 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 3220 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

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

Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #2 3

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

Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #8 ↑1 4 too low 5

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 #11 ↓1 6 too low 6

SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (816) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #7 1 too low 7

WP Visitor Statistics (Real Time Traffic) 20K+ · 4.5★ (156) wp.org #9 ↓2 2 too low 8

Web-Stat – Live Visitor Analytics 5K+ · 4.4★ (20) thin reviews wp.org #4 ↓1 4 too high 9

FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #20 ↓3 10 too low 11

Web Push Notifications – Webpushr 10K+ · 4.7★ (63) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 5 too high 12

Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #16 4 too low 13

Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #14 1 too low 14

ExactMetrics – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Plugin) 200K+ · 2.5★ (1546) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement wp.org #5 9 too high 15

Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN 70K+ · 4.7★ (1488) wp.org #22 ↓2 7 too low 16

NitroPack – Performance, Page Speed & Cache Plugin for Core Web Vitals, CDN & Image Optimization 90K+ · 4.3★ (311) wp.org #21 ↓2 5 too low 17

SendPulse Free Web Push 500+ · 5.0★ (9) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↓2 7 too high 18

PNG to JPG 10K+ · 4.7★ (40) wp.org #24 6 too low 19

Web Accessibility (formally known as Ally) – WCAG Scanning, Guided Fixes, Usability Widget 500K+ · 2.9★ (162) wp.org #17 ↓3 2 too high 20

Core Web Vitals & PageSpeed Booster 1K+ · 3.9★ (15) heavy footprint thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓2 5 too high 21

PushAlert – Web Push Notifications for WordPress and WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.6★ (8) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓1 8 too high 22

Migrate To Liquid Web & Nexcess 1K+ · 4.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↓3 4 too high 23

AWeber – Free Sign Up Form and Landing Page Builder Plugin for Lead Generation and Email Newsletter Growth 8K+ · 2.6★ (25) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #23 ↓2 24

Jetpack Stats 800+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓1 5 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.