wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wordpress analytics”

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

WooCommerce Analytics shows at wp.org #13 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.5★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. 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★ (3156) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #1 2

Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #2 3

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #3 1 too high 5

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

Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too low 7

Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #5 2 too high 8

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #7 1 too high 9

GA Google Analytics – Connect Google Analytics to WordPress 400K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #9 ↓1 10

WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (759) wp.org #10 11

Analytify – Google Analytics 4 Tracking and Reporting in WordPress 20K+ · 4.7★ (488) wp.org #14 ↓3 3 too low 12

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #19 ↓1 7 too low 13

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520) wp.org #21 ↓1 8 too low 14

WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915) wp.org #23 9 too low 15

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) heavy footprint wp.org #24 ↓2 9 too low 16

GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #16 ↓2 17

Plausible Analytics 10K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #15 ↑2 2 too high 18

Analytics Insights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (34) not PHP-current wp.org #12 ↓2 6 too high 19

Beehive Analytics – Google Analytics Dashboard 20K+ · 4.5★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓2 8 too high 20

Connect Matomo – Analytics Dashboard for WordPress 60K+ · 4.5★ (95) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too high 21

ExactMetrics – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Plugin) 200K+ · 2.5★ (1546) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #17 ↓2 4 too high 22

Clicky Analytics 10K+ · 4.5★ (25) not PHP-current wp.org #22 ↓1 23

Google Analytics for WooCommerce 100K+ · 2.8★ (119) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #20 ↓7 3 too high 24

WooCommerce Analytics 20K+ · 4.5★ (4) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #13 ↓1 11 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.