Frequently asked questions

StatWP is an independent analytics and research platform for the WordPress.org plugin and theme directory. It turns public directory data into install estimates, rank history, keyword ranks, niche research, competitor comparisons, and review analysis.

Plugin and theme authors, WordPress product businesses, agencies, and SEO or marketing people who need to understand the WordPress.org directory. Anyone researching what to build next also uses it.

Sizing a niche before you build, tracking your listing's installs and keyword ranks, watching competitors, finding gaps from user reviews, validating a readme, and comparing listings side by side.

Yes. Niche Research shows how crowded a tag already is and where the installs sit, so you can pick a direction before writing code. The Readme Checker helps your first listing launch clean.

Yes. Growth Tracker monitors keyword positions and rank history for the listings you already own, and Review Gap Finder turns critical reviews into a ranked list of what users keep hitting.

Yes. Nothing stops you researching listings you do not own, and the same tools work for client plugins and themes. Higher plans exist because agencies track more listings than a solo author.

Yes. Compare Listings puts competitor stats next to yours, Growth Tracker records who ranks above you for a keyword over time, and niche pages show the leaders in a tag.

No. StatWP is independent. WordPress and WordPress.org are trademarks of their respective owners.

Active installs (the reported bucket plus a StatWP estimate), downloads, ratings and review counts, version distribution, tags, popular-browse rank, keyword rank in directory search, release cadence, and growth over time.

Yes. Plugins and themes both have catalogs, detail pages, rankings, and tool support. Compare works plugin to plugin or theme to theme, not across the two.

Stats refresh daily. StatWP takes daily catalog snapshots, which is what makes rank history, momentum, and growth charts possible. Live listing details come from the public WordPress.org APIs.

Yes. Any plugin listed in the WordPress.org directory can be searched and opened on its own stats page, whether you own it or not.

Yes. Themes have the same search and detail pages as plugins, from the themes catalog.

Yes. Rankings pages list listings by popular-browse position, and each detail page shows that listing's rank and how it has moved.

Yes. StatWP shows the official WordPress.org install bucket, its own estimate inside that bucket, and download counts. Downloads include updates, not just new users, and charts label that so a release spike is not read as adoption.

Yes. Detail pages carry install, download, rank, and rating history from the daily snapshots. Growth Tracker adds keyword rank history for the listings you track.

Counts published by WordPress.org (downloads, ratings, install buckets) are exact. Install counts inside a bucket are estimates, most reliable on the day a bucket flips and on smaller listings, least reliable at 1 million installs and above where you should trust the official bucket. The methodology page documents each method.

It replaces manual directory research and rank spreadsheets. It is not website analytics: StatWP sees the public directory, not your site traffic, your users, or your sales.

A WordPress.org rank tracker. You add a listing and keywords, and it records keyword position in directory search, keyword difficulty from the current top 10, estimated demand, whether your readme and tags mention the keyword, and trust signals such as ratings and support. Your tracker pages are private to your account.

You enter a WordPress.org tag and see how crowded the niche is: how many listings share the tag, how installs are distributed across bands, who leads, whether the tag is growing, and which high-install listings look abandoned.

A side-by-side table for plugins or themes. Columns include reported and estimated installs, ratings, downloads, author, and version, plus rank, momentum, and 30-day growth on paid plans.

It previews readme.txt the way WordPress.org typically renders it and flags missing required headers. Power User adds a keyword coverage score for the listing copy. Always confirm against official WordPress.org submission rules before you upload.

AI review analysis. It reads a listing's 1 to 4 star WordPress.org reviews, groups complaints into recurring topics, ranks them by how many reviewers hit each one, and collects requested features. It never quotes an individual reviewer, and every count is computed from the stored reviews rather than reported by the model.

Yes, with Growth Tracker. It records daily positions for the keywords you add to a tracked listing, so you see movement rather than a single-day snapshot.

That is what Growth Tracker and Readme Checker are for. You see which keywords you rank for, how hard each one is, whether your readme and tags actually mention them, and what to fix in the listing copy.

Yes. Niche Research works off WordPress.org tags and reports listing counts, install distribution, leaders, tag growth, and abandoned leaders for that niche.

Yes. How many at once depends on your plan: guests and Casual get 1 peer, Hobbyist 2, Enthusiast 3, Power User 5.

Yes, the same way as plugins. Compare themes with themes; mixed plugin and theme tables are not supported.

Yes. Put them in a comparison, watch their rank and install history, read their review complaints in Review Gap Finder, and see where they sit inside your tag.

Yes. Rising and falling niche trends are free, and Niche Research shows whether a specific tag is growing or flat.

Yes. The emerging pages surface listings gaining installs quickly, and momentum plus 30-day growth appear on detail pages and comparisons.

That is what the research tools are for: crowded versus open tags, high-install listings that stopped shipping updates, keywords with demand and a weak top 10, and complaints that most plugins in a niche share.

Yes. Tracked keywords are re-checked daily and kept as history, so it is built for watching over months rather than one-off lookups.

Yes, within our terms. Research for your own products, your employer's, or your clients' is normal use.

Use it as evidence, not as an oracle. Published counts are exact, install counts inside a bucket are estimates, and directory data says nothing about revenue or conversion. Read the methodology page before you bet on a number.

Yes. Niche Research sizes the competition, review analysis shows what users of existing plugins complain about, and keyword data shows what people search for in the directory.

Yes. Track the keywords you care about, see where you rank and who beats you, check that your readme and tags cover those keywords, and watch rank move after you ship a listing change.

Yes. Browsing plugin and theme stats, rankings, niche trends, a comparison with 1 peer, and the Readme Checker all work as a guest.

Some tools need one. Niche Research lookups, Growth Tracker, favorites, and pins require a signed-in account, because they are counted and saved against your plan.

Every plan can open every tool. What changes by plan is the limits and a few premium features: SEO keyword rankings, custom detail page layout, readme SEO scoring, niche PDF export, and review exports.

Yes. Access follows the subscription, so paid features unlock as soon as checkout completes and the subscription is active.

Yes. Sign in with the same email on any device. Accounts are for one person, not for sharing across a team.

Yes, there is a permanently free tier. Casual covers browsing, stats, rankings, niche trends, 1 competitor peer, and small allowances for niche lookups and Growth Tracker once you sign in.

Casual (free), Hobbyist, Enthusiast, and Power User. Paid plans are billed monthly or yearly.

Plugin and theme browse and detail pages, downloads, installs, rank and growth charts, versions and ratings, and rising and falling niche trends, plus 1 competitor peer with no account. A free signed-in account adds 5 niche lookups per week, up to 5 favorites, 2 compare series, and Growth Tracker with 1 listing and 3 keywords.

Casual is the free tier. Hobbyist raises research and save limits for solo builders. Enthusiast adds SEO keyword rankings, more niche lookups, more compare peers, and review exports. Power User adds custom detail page layouts, the readme SEO checker, unlimited niche lookups, niche PDF export, deeper niche review analysis, and the highest caps.

Casual is free. Hobbyist $12 per month or $120 per year, Enthusiast $19 per month or $190 per year, Power User $39 per month or $390 per year. Yearly billing is charged once for twelve months at a lower effective monthly rate. The pricing page always shows current prices, including any sale.

The pricing page lists every plan's features side by side, and it is built from the same limits the app enforces, so it does not drift from what your account actually gets.

Browsing stats is unmetered. Niche Research lookups are Casual 5 per week, Hobbyist 10, Enthusiast 20, Power User unlimited. Growth Tracker slots are Casual 1 listing and 3 keywords, Hobbyist 2 and 5, Enthusiast 3 and 10, Power User 10 and 25.

Niche Research lookups reset weekly. Review analyses are a monthly allowance. Growth Tracker listings and keywords, favorites, and pins are not periodic: they are slots, and a slot stays used once you add something to it.

The action is blocked with a message naming your plan and the cap. Weekly lookups become available again when the week resets. Slot limits need either an upgrade or a freed slot.

Upgrade to the next plan and the higher caps apply straight away. If Power User is still not enough for what you are doing, email support@statwp.com and tell us the volume you need.

Yes, from Pricing or Account. The subscription changes in place rather than being cancelled and recreated, and proration follows what you confirm at the time of the change.

Yes, from Account. The lower caps apply on the new plan, and premium features that are not part of the lower plan stop being available.

Yes, in both directions, and between monthly and yearly billing. Plan changes go through the billing portal linked in Account.

Yes. Your account stays the same, so favorites, tracked listings, and history carry over. Only the limits change.

Saved items stay in your account either way. After a downgrade, anything above the new cap stops being extendable until you are back under it, and paid-only metrics are hidden.

Some of it. Niche reports export to PDF on Power User, and review analysis exports (Markdown and PDF) start at Enthusiast, with bulk export on Power User. Charts and catalog pages are on-screen only.

No. Niche report PDF export is a Power User feature, and review analysis downloads start at Enthusiast.

Yes, 7 days on paid plans. You confirm a payment method at checkout and the first charge lands when the trial ends.

Two ways: use the free Casual tier for as long as you like, or start the 7-day trial on a paid plan and cancel before it ends if it is not for you.

Card payments, plus any additional methods our checkout offers for your country. The available options are shown at checkout before you pay.

No. Prices are in USD, and any sales tax, VAT, or GST due in your country is calculated and added at checkout, so the total can be higher than the listed price.

Yes. Monthly and yearly subscriptions renew automatically on the saved payment method until you cancel. If a renewal fails, update your card under Payment method and invoices in Account.

Yes, at any time from Account or the billing portal linked there. Cancelling stops future renewals rather than shutting access off the same day.

You keep paid access until the end of the period you already paid for, then the account continues on the free Casual tier. Your account, favorites, and history stay, under Casual limits.

Yes for duplicate charges, clear billing errors, and wherever consumer law requires it, including cooling-off rights. Shortly after a first charge with little usage we will often refund as a goodwill gesture. We do not routinely refund a completed period after substantial use. The refund and cancellation policy has the full detail.

Yes. Yearly billing works out cheaper per month than monthly on every paid plan, and the pricing page shows the exact saving for each one.

There is no separate team plan today, and accounts are single-user. Power User is the plan built for high-volume work. For agency or volume needs beyond it, email support@statwp.com.

Count two things: how many listings you need to track, and how much niche research you do each week. Match those against the caps on the pricing page, start on the lower plan, and upgrade when you hit a limit.

Hobbyist is usually enough: 2 tracked listings with 5 keywords each and 10 niche lookups per week. Choose Enthusiast instead if you want SEO keyword rankings.

Enthusiast covers 3 tracked listings, Power User covers 10 with 25 keywords each. Pick by how many listings you actually need in the tracker.

Power User. It has the highest tracker, compare, favorite, and pin caps, unlimited niche lookups, and PDF export for client-facing reports.

Enthusiast at minimum, since SEO keyword rankings and rank history start there. Power User adds the readme SEO checker and unlimited niche lookups.

Power User if the directory is a real acquisition channel for you: it carries the full export set, readme SEO scoring, custom layouts, and the deepest niche review analysis.

Not to start. Casual tracks 1 listing with 3 keywords. Paid plans raise those slots, and SEO keyword rankings across the site start at Enthusiast.

No, but the free tier is narrow: 1 peer column and core stats only. Paid plans add peers plus rank, momentum, and 30-day growth columns.

No. A free signed-in account includes 5 lookups per week. Paid plans raise that to 10 or 20 per week, and Power User is unlimited with PDF export.

Yes. Plugins and themes share your account and your plan caps. Tracker slots do not care which of the two you spend them on.

Yes. Start low, upgrade whenever a limit gets in the way, and your saved work carries over untouched.

Yes. Email support@statwp.com with what you are trying to do and how many listings are involved, and we will tell you which plan covers it.

Compare the caps on the pricing page, or email support@statwp.com. If a plan turns out to be the wrong fit you can switch at any time.