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.

Alex Polonski

Smart Countdown FX key features:
<ul>
<li>
years and months (along with “traditional” weeks, days, hours, minutes and seconds) can be displayed in the countdown interval.
</li>
<li>
counter digits changes are animated and site administrator can easily switch between available <a href="http://wp.smartcalc.org/category/animation-profiles/" rel="nofollow ugc">animation profiles</a>, included with the plugin or added later.
</li>
<li>
event <a href="http://wp.smartcalc.org/category/event-import-plugins/" rel="nofollow ugc">import plugins</a> support, no need to manually edit widget settings or shortcode for recurring or calendar events.
</li>
</ul>
Other features
Smart Countdown FX can show both countdown and count up counters, and it will switch to the “count up” mode automatically when the event time arrives. Event description can be configured individually for countdown and count up modes and can containt HTML markup allowed for a post.
Smart Countdown FX supports different layouts. Most popular layouts (sidebar, shortcode, shortcode compact, etc.) are included in the package and can be selected in the widget options or using a shortcode attribute. Custom layout presets can be easily created using existing ones as a starting point. You will find detailed instructions in the documentation.
RTL languages are natively supported in all counter layouts.
Smart Countdown FX widget is responsive. Open “Responsive” page on different handheld devices or just change your browser window width if you are on a desktop to see the feature in action.
More than one countdown can be displayed on the same page, each instance with its individual settings and configuration.
Events import plugins are supported.
<a href="http://wp.smartcalc.org/" rel="nofollow ugc">Project home page</a>
Coming soon
<ul>
<li>
More event import plugins for popular event management plugins and services.
</li>
<li>
More animation profiles.
</li>
</ul>

Smart Countdown FX

Smart Countdown FX displays a responsive animated countdown. Supports years and months display and recurring events

Simple Hit Counter vs Smart Countdown FX