Adam Greenwell

The Hits List keeps post view tracking on your own WordPress site and gives you block, widget, and template-tag tools for displaying popular content.
Key features:
<ul>
<li>Local view tracking stored in WordPress database tables</li>
<li>Overall and daily popular-post counts</li>
<li>Popular Posts block and widget support with public post type selection</li>
<li>WordPress dashboard cards for daily top posts, all-time top posts, and views over time</li>
<li>Top 10 migration compatibility with resumable rerun-safe imports, WP-CLI tools, legacy widget support, native widget conversion, cleanup for old Top 10 leftovers, and optional Top 10 plugin removal</li>
<li>REST-based tracking with AJAX fallback</li>
<li>Privacy-policy integration for site owners</li>
</ul>
<h3>Privacy</h3>
The Hits List stores post view counts locally in the <code>hits_list</code> and <code>hits_list_daily</code> database tables (table prefix may vary).
It does not send tracking data to a third-party analytics service.
Daily tracking buckets are retained for 180 days by default and older rows are removed automatically.
You are responsible for describing your use of visitor analytics on your own site as needed.
<h3>Source Code and Build Tools</h3>
The compiled block assets in <code>blocks/popular-posts/build/</code> are generated from the human-readable source files included in <code>blocks/popular-posts/src/</code>.
To rebuild the block assets:
<ol>
<li>Go to <code>blocks/popular-posts/</code>.</li>
<li>Run <code>npm install</code>.</li>
<li>Run <code>npm run build</code>.</li>
</ol>
The block build uses <code>@wordpress/scripts</code>. Runtime PHP, vanilla JavaScript, and CSS assets outside the block build are maintained directly in the plugin source.

The Hits List

Track post views locally, display popular posts, and migrate Top 10 data into a completely free, drop-in replacement.

RobertWP

RW PostViewStats Lite provides accurate view tracking for posts, pages, and custom post types — designed for performance and privacy.
🆓 Lite Version Features: 
– 🔢 AJAX View Counting – Async requests for better performance 
– 🚫 Duplicate Prevention – 12-hour cookie-based protection 
– 📊 Sortable Admin Columns – Sort posts by views in admin list 
– 📁 Data Cleaner – Remove view data by date or post 
– 🌐 REST API Endpoint – Fetch view counts via <code>/wp-json/rwpsl/v1/views/{post_id}</code> 
– 📌 Shortcode Support – Display views with <code>[rwpsl_post_views]</code> 
– 🔒 Privacy Friendly – No IP addresses collected
⭐ Pro Version Additional Features: 
– 🌍 Multisite Support – Network-wide tracking for WordPress Multisite 
– 📈 Advanced Analytics – Detailed views reports and charts 
– 📁 CSV Export – Export stats by date range or specific posts 
– 🔔 Views Notifications – Get notified when posts reach view milestones 
– 🎯 Custom Post Type Support – Enhanced CPT tracking options 
– ⚡ Performance Optimizations – Cached views and batch processing
Documentation: 
<a href="https://docs.robertwp.com/rw-postviewstats-pro/" rel="nofollow ugc">Full Documentation</a> – Includes both free and pro version guides.

RW PostViewStats Lite

A lightweight plugin to track post views via AJAX with anti-duplicate mechanisms and privacy-friendly design.

The Hits List vs RW PostViewStats Lite