WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative
Plugin Review
AI-ResearchedWhat is WP Statistics?
WP Statistics is a WordPress-native analytics plugin that stores all visitor data directly on your own server. Developed by VeronaLabs, it has been actively maintained for 15 years, making it one of the oldest analytics tools in the WordPress repository. The plugin currently sees over 600,000 active installs and holds a 4.1 out of 5 star rating from 756 reviews, with 72% of those ratings being five-star. It positions itself as a direct alternative to Google Analytics, with a strong emphasis on privacy and data ownership.
Unlike external analytics services, WP Statistics does not require an external account. Every visitor interaction is tracked without cookies by default, which means your site typically does not need a separate cookie consent popup. The plugin is GDPR compliant out of the box and also supports CCPA, PECR, and Do Not Track (DNT) headers. version 14.16.8, updated on May 19, 2026, continues to refine this cookie-less tracking approach.
Key Features of WP Statistics
- Cookie-less Tracking: No cookies are used to collect visitor data, which simplifies privacy compliance and removes the need for a cookie consent banner.
- Full Data Ownership: All analytics data is created and stored in your WordPress database, giving you 100% control over your information.
- Geographic Reports: View visitor locations by country, city, European country, US state, and custom regions, powered by a downloadable GeoIP database.
- Content and Category Analytics: Track the performance of individual posts, pages, and custom post types, plus see how your categories perform over time.
- Referral Source Categories: Analyze traffic sources with specific categories for Organic Search, Paid Search, Organic Social, and Paid Social.
- Bypass Ad Blockers: The tracking script loads dynamically with a unique name and address, helping you capture visits that ad blockers would normally block.
- Email Reports: Send customizable analytics summaries to yourself or your team on a scheduled basis directly from the WordPress dashboard.
- Author Analytics: Measure individual author performance, showing which writers generate the most views and engagement.
Who Should Use WP Statistics?
WP Statistics is built for website owners who want to understand their traffic without sending data to third-party servers. Bloggers and small business owners who are concerned about GDPR, CCPA, or PECR regulations will find the default cookie-less setup immediately useful. The plugin requires no coding knowledge, making it accessible to beginners who just want to see which posts are popular and where visitors come from. With 600,000 active installs, it clearly serves a broad audience of non-technical users.
Marketers and site managers running high-traffic websites can also benefit from the plugin's configurable optimization settings. The "Optimization" page lets you fine-tune how data is stored and processed to maintain fast loading times. For users who need deeper analytics, the premium Data Plus add-on adds custom post type tracking, custom taxonomy analytics, and a link tracker for outbound clicks. The core plugin itself handles up to large data volumes without external services.
Installation & Setup
Installation follows the standard WordPress process: upload the plugin to /wp-content/plugins/, activate it, and configure the settings. The plugin is designed for beginners, so no technical knowledge is required to start tracking visitors. One notable setup step involves downloading the GeoIP database during configuration, which enables geographic reports without sending data to an external service.
Support & Community
Support data from the last two months shows 13 open threads and 10 resolved threads, giving a resolution rate of 77%. This indicates an active support team that addresses most issues, though the 23% unresolved rate suggests some users encounter problems that remain open. The rating breakdown reveals a polarized response: 72% five-star reviews praise the plugin's simplicity and privacy focus, while 15% one-star reviews often cite specific bugs or configuration conflicts. With a 15-year history and regular updates through version 14.16.8, the plugin maintains a stable development cycle, but the support response time can vary depending on the complexity of the issue.
Pros & Cons
- With 600K+ active installs and a 4.1/5 rating, WP Statistics is a widely trusted analytics plugin that eliminates the need for external accounts by storing all data locally in your WordPress database.
- It is GDPR, CCPA, PECR, and cookie compliant by default, using cookie-less tracking so your site typically does not require a cookie consent popup.
- The plugin offers unlimited visitor tracking and full data ownership, with features like IP hashing with a random daily salt and a Privacy Audit Tool to ensure compliance.
- Its dashboard provides real-time monitoring, content and category analytics, referral tracking (including UTMs), and author performance metrics, all without requiring coding knowledge.
- 72% of 756 ratings are 5-star, indicating high user satisfaction, and 77% of support threads are resolved, showing responsive assistance for common issues.
- Despite a 4.1 rating, 15% of reviews are 1-star, suggesting notable reliability or usability problems for a minority of users.
- Data stored entirely on your own server can cause performance issues or database bloat on high-traffic sites, potentially slowing down WordPress admin areas.
- The plugin lacks advanced features like custom event tracking, funnel analysis, or integration with third-party tools, limiting its usefulness for complex analytics needs.
Technical Details
- Requires WordPress
- 6.6+
- Requires PHP
- 7.4+
- Tested up to WP
- 7.0
- First Released
- 2011 (15+ years)
- Support (last 2 months)
- 14 threads — 93% resolved
Feature Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, WP Statistics is free and available on WordPress.org. It offers unlimited visitor tracking and full data ownership without any external accounts.
WP Statistics has over 600,000 active installs, making it a widely trusted analytics plugin. It has a strong community with a 4.1 out of 5 rating from 756 ratings.
WP Statistics requires WordPress version 6.6 or higher. This ensures compatibility with the latest WordPress features and security updates.
Yes, WP Statistics was last updated on May 19, 2026, and has been actively maintained since its first release in 2011. The current version is 14.16.8.
WP Statistics requires PHP version 7.4 or higher. This ensures the plugin runs efficiently and securely on your server.
Support is responsive, with 13 support threads in the last 2 months and a 93% resolution rate (10 resolved). Most users find the plugin easy to use without needing extensive support.
Yes, WP Statistics is designed for simplicity and requires no coding or technical knowledge. You can install and use it directly from your WordPress dashboard.
Key features include GDPR-compliant cookie-less tracking, content and category analytics, live visitor monitoring, and UTM campaign tracking. It also offers advanced privacy settings and optimization tools for high-traffic sites.