wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “website statistics”

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 “website statistics”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 2 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

DevDome Analytics: Bot Traffic vs Human Traffic Website Statistics shows at wp.org #11 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 8706 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. 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

WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (759) wp.org #2 3

Starter Templates: AI-Powered Website Templates for Elementor & Gutenberg 1M+ · 4.9★ (4755) wp.org #7 ↓1 4 too low 4

Koko Analytics – Privacy-Friendly WordPress Analytics 70K+ · 5.0★ (245) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too low 5

MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6

Visitor Traffic Real Time Statistics 30K+ · 4.1★ (233) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7

Metricool – Social media and site statistics 90K+ · 4.4★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #3 ↑2 4 too high 8

Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #8 ↑1 9

Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #9 ↑2 10

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #16 ↓1 6 too low 11

Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #13 ↑1 2 too low 12

WP Visitor Statistics (Real Time Traffic) 20K+ · 4.5★ (156) wp.org #12 ↓2 13

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 #18 ↓2 5 too low 14

All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #14 ↓1 15

MailPoet – Newsletters, Email Marketing, and Automation 500K+ · 4.4★ (1435) heavy footprint wp.org #15 ↓3 16

W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #19 3 too low 17

Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601) wp.org #23 6 too low 18

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #21 ↓3 3 too low 19

Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #24 5 too low 20

FastPixel Cache – Optimize Page Speed: Compress Images, Minify, Clean Database & CDN 4K+ · 4.8★ (50) not PHP-current wp.org #17 3 too high 21

Real-Time Post Statistics for WordPress 1K+ · 4.8★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #10 ↓2 11 too high 22

ExactMetrics – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Plugin) 200K+ · 2.5★ (1546) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #22 ↓5 23

DevDome Analytics: Bot Traffic vs Human Traffic Website Statistics 300+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #11 12 too high 24

Uptime Monitoring for WordPress – My Website is Online 500+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #20 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.