How StatWP estimates installs and ranks

StatWP is an independent analytics product for WordPress.org plugins and themes. We are not affiliated with the WordPress Foundation. This page explains where numbers come from so you (and AI tools) can cite them accurately.

1. Data sources

• Public WordPress.org plugin and theme info APIs (installs, downloads, ratings, versions, tags, and related fields)
• Public WordPress.org stats endpoints (daily downloads, version share)
• StatWP’s own daily catalog snapshots for growth charts and popular-browse rank history

2. Active installs (reported vs estimated)

WordPress.org usually publishes rounded install buckets (for example 10,000+), not an exact active-install count. StatWP always shows the reported bucket. When we have enough history, we also show an estimated install figure:

• Bucket crossings. When a listing moves from one WP.org bucket to another, we treat that as an anchor and project between anchors.
• Rank-in-bucket. Among listings tied at the same reported installs, popular-browse rank can refine position inside the band.
• Download ladder (fallback). When rank history is thin, we may use relative download volume among similarly bucketed listings.

Estimates are informational. They are not official WordPress.org statistics and can revise as new snapshots arrive.

3. Rank

“Rank” on StatWP typically means position in WordPress.org’s popular browse ordering among plugins or themes we track, refreshed with our catalog sync. Day-to-day rank charts use our stored history, not a live scrape on every page view.

4. Downloads, ratings, and versions

Daily downloads and active-version distribution come from WordPress.org stats APIs. Ratings use WP.org’s rating fields (often shown as stars out of five derived from a 0–100 score).

5. Paid tools vs free stats

Core browse and detail stats stay available without a paid plan. Features such as SEO keyword ranks, higher niche-research limits, and some exports require a paid plan — see Pricing.

6. Contact

Questions about methodology: support@statwp.com.