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

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 charts”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Ninja Charts – Interactive Charts and Graphs shows at wp.org #6 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 874 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

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

wpDataTables – WordPress Data Table, Dynamic Tables & Table Charts Plugin 60K+ · 4.5★ (449) wp.org #2 3

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2143) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

WP Data Access – App Builder for Tables, Forms, Dashboards, Charts & Maps 10K+ · 4.9★ (88) wp.org #8 ↑5 3 too low 6

Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #10 4 too low 7

Graphina – Charts and Graphs For Elementor 9K+ · 4.1★ (16) thin reviews wp.org #3 4 too high 8

Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too low 9

AI Engine – MCP Server & AI Chatbot for WordPress, with Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini 90K+ · 4.9★ (874) wp.org #16 7 too low 10

Chartify – WordPress Chart Plugin 3K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too high 11

FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #14 3 too low 12

ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #18 ↓2 6 too low 13 A amCharts: Charts and Maps 1K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too high 14

Visualizer – Tables & Charts Manager with Built-in AI Generator 20K+ · 4.4★ (225) not PHP-current wp.org #12 ↓3 2 too high 15

MainWP Dashboard: Self-hosted WordPress Management for Agencies 20K+ · 4.9★ (2354) not PHP-current wp.org #23 8 too low 16

M Chart 3K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #13 ↓3 3 too high 17

Organization chart 5K+ · 5.0★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↓1 18

Chart Block – Visualize Data with Bar, Line, Pie Charts 1K+ · 4.8★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19

WEN Skill Charts 600+ · 4.5★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓4 4 too high 20

Ninja Charts – Interactive Charts and Graphs 3K+ · 3.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #6 ↑1 14 too high 21

Product Size Charts Plugin for WooCommerce 9K+ · 4.3★ (39) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #24 3 too low 22

Sizor Product Size Chart For WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.3★ (32) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #21 ↓3 1 too high 23

WP Charts and Graphs – WordPress Chart Plugin 1K+ · 4.8★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too high 24

GoSMTP – SMTP for WordPress 500K+ · 4.3★ (10) host-installed base thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓2 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.