This is the simplest hit counter I could imagine (well, almost). Every time a 
page is requested, it adds one to the count. The display is not an image, just 
text. There is no javascript to hit some third-party server, no tracking, no 
distinction among pages: just an old-fashioned site counter CGI, implemented in 
WordPress. The plugin stores its count in its own MySQL table.
Once the plugin is installed (described below), you can display the count by 
putting code like this somewhere on your page:
<pre><code><?= simplehitcounter_hit(); ?>
</code></pre>
That will both increment the counter and display its value. There is no method 
for getting the value without incrementing it. I suppose I could write such a 
thing if anyone likes.
There is a minor race condition. First the plugin updates the database by one 
(atomically), then it queries for the current count. Therefore in heavy traffic 
it is possible for two updates to happen before either select. In that case, 
the counter will correctly increment, but the number displayed may be the same 
for each user, representing the total page hits. As far as I can tell, this 
race condition is inevitable without locking the table. It seems trivial 
enough, though I guess you should be warned if you run a contest to give away a 
free car to the 1,000,000th user.
By default the plugin keeps its data in a table called <code>wp_simplehitcounter_hits</code>. 
You can change this by editing the <code>simplehitcounter.php</code> file.

Simple Hit Counter

Prints a count of the number of hits your blog has received, tracked in the 
database.

Hugh Lashbrooke

“Post Hit Counter” does what it says on the tin – it counts how many hits your posts receive. Hit counts are displayed in a new column in the post list table, in the submit box on the post edit screen and in the admin bar on the frontend.
Plugin Features
<ul>
<li>Easily visible hit counts in the dashboard and in the admin bar on the frontend</li>
<li>Shortcode to display view count for current or specified post</li>
<li>Widget to display your most viewed posts anywhere on your site</li>
<li>Dashboard widget to show your most viewed posts at a glance</li>
<li>No complicated analytics and statistics to wade through</li>
<li>Option to select which post types must be counted</li>
<li>Option to select which user roles should not trigger the hit counter</li>
</ul>
This is not meant as a replacement for more advanced analytics plugins – it is a counter so you can see which of your posts are more popular without diving too deeply into complicated viewing statistics.
Want to contribute? <a href="https://github.com/hlashbrooke/Post-Hit-Counter" rel="nofollow ugc">Fork the GitHub repository</a>.
This plugin was initially created as a demo for <a href="http://2014.capetown.wordcamp.org/session/building-your-first-wordpress-plugin/" rel="nofollow ugc">a workshop</a> I ran at WordCamp Cape Town 2014. I have since fleshed it out and enhanced it to be more useful.

Post Hit Counter

Not complicated; just does what it says. Nice. Thanks.

Simply Works

A counter to track how many times your posts are viewed.

Simple Hit Counter vs Post Hit Counter