PulseViews – Post Views Counter, Page Views & Real-Time Analytics
Track, display and analyse post views on your WordPress site. Privacy-first, cache-compatible, zero postmeta bloat.
Solid choice
PulseViews is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. It runs on 20+ sites and was last updated 2 weeks ago, and scores 67/100 on our health check.
- Actively developed — last update 2 weeks ago
- Tested with the latest WordPress (7.1)
- Small user base (20+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
- Needs PHP 8.1 or newer
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where PulseViews stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| analytics | >100 |
| content stats | >100 |
| page views | >100 |
| post views | >100 |
| View Counter | #50 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
About PulseViews
From the official readme · v1.0.2Description
PulseViews records how many times each post or page has been viewed and gives you a clean analytics dashboard inside your WordPress admin.
No wp_postmeta writes. No database bloat. Works with any caching plugin.
Key features:
- Smart view tracking — PHP, JavaScript, or combined tracking modes
- Cache-compatible — JavaScript mode works with WP Rocket, LiteSpeed Cache, W3 Total Cache, and Cloudflare
- Bot detection — 30+ known bot patterns filtered automatically, stored separately
- Session deduplication — prevents the same visitor inflating your counts
- Privacy first — IP addresses are hashed, never stored in plain text
- Role exclusions — exclude admins, editors, or any custom role
- Dedicated database tables — four indexed tables, zero wp_postmeta writes
- 4 display styles — Pill, Block, Inline, Compact — all inherit your theme colour
- Auto-insert or shortcode — place the badge anywhere with
[pulseviews] - Clean admin dashboard — views-over-time chart, top content leaderboard, tracking status
- Custom view label — change “views” to “readers”, “hits”, or anything you want
Shortcode reference:
[pulseviews] — current post, default style
[pulseviews style="1" variant="filled"] — filled pill
[pulseviews style="2"] — block counter
[pulseviews style="3"] — inline text
[pulseviews style="4"] — compact badge
[pulseviews label="readers"] — custom label
[pulseviews period="week"] — views this week
[pulseviews period="today"] — views today
[pulseviews id="42"] — specific post by ID
Pro version available
PulseViews Pro is an optional add-on available at pulseviews.net/pricing/. It adds:
- Custom date range reports (any period)
- Traffic sources breakdown (Google, social, direct, referrers)
- Geographic stats by country
- Most viral posts algorithm
- CSV and XML data export
For detailed documentation, visit our Documentation Page.
The free plugin is fully functional without Pro.
External Services
This plugin may connect to the following external services. Both services are disabled by default — you must explicitly opt in.
1. ip-api.com — IP Geolocation (opt-in)
Used to resolve the approximate country from a visitor’s IP address for geographic analytics.
- What data is sent: The visitor’s IP address only. No site URL, no personal identifiers, no cookies.
- When it is called: Only when a page view is recorded AND “Geographic tracking” is enabled in Settings → Other.
- Caching: Results are cached for 24 hours per IP via WordPress transients.
- Cloudflare alternative: If your site is behind Cloudflare, the country is read from the
CF-IPCountryheader and ip-api.com is never contacted. - Service provider: ip-api.com
- Terms of Service & Privacy Policy: https://ip-api.com/docs/legal
2. pulseviews.net — Usage & Diagnostic Data (opt-in)
Used to send anonymous diagnostic telemetry to help us improve plugin compatibility and stability.
- What data is sent: WordPress version, PHP version, plugin version, site language, and active plugin settings. No personal data, visitor IPs, or post contents are ever sent.
- When it is called: Only when “Allow PulseViews to collect anonymous diagnostic data” is explicitly enabled in Settings.
- Service provider: PulseViews (pulseviews.net)
- Privacy Policy: https://pulseviews.net/privacy/
- Terms of Service: https://pulseviews.net/terms/
Installation
From the WordPress admin (recommended):
- Go to Plugins → Add New Plugin
- Search for PulseViews
- Click Install Now, then Activate
Manual upload:
- Download the ZIP from WordPress.org
- Go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin
- Choose the ZIP and click Install Now, then Activate
After activation:
- Visit PulseViews → Dashboard to see your analytics
- Visit PulseViews → Settings → Counting to configure tracking mode
- Visit PulseViews → Settings → Display to set up the view badge
Frequently asked questions
Does it work with caching plugins?
Yes. Go to Settings → Counting → Tracking mode and switch to JavaScript. This tracks views asynchronously after the page loads — even when served from cache. Tested with WP Rocket, LiteSpeed Cache, W3 Total Cache, and Cloudflare.
Will it slow down my site?
No. JavaScript tracking uses the browser’s sendBeacon API — completely non-blocking. PHP tracking adds one indexed database write per view. The frontend badge CSS loads only on pages that display it.
Does it track logged-in users?
By default, Administrators and Editors are excluded. Configure this under Settings → Counting → Exclusions. You can exclude any role independently of the “exclude logged-in” toggle.
Where is my data stored?
All post view data is stored locally in your WordPress database in four dedicated tables: wp_pulseviews_views, wp_pulseviews_aggregates, wp_pulseviews_post_totals, wp_pulseviews_exclusions. Nothing is sent to any external server unless you explicitly opt in to geographic tracking or usage collection.
Is it GDPR compliant?
IP addresses are SHA-256 hashed before storage — raw IPs are never written to your database. No cookies are set by default (session tracking uses a hashed key). Geographic tracking and telemetry are disabled by default. Read our full Privacy Policy.
How do I show the view count on my posts?
Go to Settings → Display → Auto-insert position and choose “After content”. Or place [pulseviews] manually anywhere in post content, page templates, or widget areas.
Can I customise the label?
Yes. Go to Settings → Display → View count label. Change “views” to anything — “readers”, “hits”, “people read this”. You can also override it per-shortcode with [pulseviews label="readers"].
What display styles are available?
Four styles: Pill (rounded with eye icon), Block (bold inverted counter), Inline (pure text, inherits theme font), and Compact (small bordered badge for post cards). Each automatically inherits your theme’s text colour.
Can I use it on multiple post types?
Yes. Go to Settings → Counting → Track post types and select any public post type — posts, pages, products, custom types.
What happens to my data if I deactivate the plugin?
Data is preserved on deactivation. To delete everything, go to Settings → Other → Danger Zone and enable “Delete all data on uninstall” before deleting the plugin.
Where can I read your terms and conditions?
You can review our full service terms at pulseviews.net/terms.
Changelog
Initial release. No upgrade needed.
1.0.0 — 2026-05-19
- Initial release
- View tracking with PHP, JavaScript, and combined modes
- Bot detection with 30+ patterns
- Session-based deduplication
- Four frontend display styles (Pill, Block, Inline, Compact)
- Admin dashboard with chart and top content table
- Settings: Counting, Display, Other tabs
- Dedicated database tables (no wp_postmeta)
- Shortcode [pulseviews] with full attribute support
- Gutenberg block
- Role and user exclusions
- Geographic tracking opt-in (ip-api.com + Cloudflare header)
- Nightly data aggregation via WP-Cron
- REST API endpoint for JavaScript tracking mode
Screenshots
For developers
Is this your plugin? Show off the numbers.
Add a live badge to your site, docs or GitHub README. It updates on its own — no account needed.
Best PulseViews alternatives
All analytics plugins →
FAQ
PulseViews: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Sep 28, 2026
Is PulseViews free?
Yes. PulseViews is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is PulseViews safe to use in 2026?
PulseViews is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. It runs on 20+ sites and was last updated 2 weeks ago, and scores 67/100 on our health check.
How many websites use PulseViews?
PulseViews is active on 20+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 262 times since it launched in August 2026. It was downloaded 270 times in the last 30 days.
Does PulseViews work with WordPress 7.1?
Yes. The developer has tested PulseViews up to WordPress 7.1.2, the latest release. It requires WordPress 6.4 or newer.
What PHP version does PulseViews need?
PulseViews requires PHP 8.1 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.
When was PulseViews last updated?
The latest version, 1.0.2, was released on September 11, 2026 (2 weeks ago).
Who makes PulseViews?
PulseViews is developed and maintained by rankalseo.
What are the best alternatives to PulseViews?
The most popular alternatives to PulseViews are Site Kit by Google (5M+ installs), MonsterInsights (2M+ installs) and WP Statistics (600K+ installs).
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