Real-time WordPress analytics shows recent recorded activity inside your dashboard. SlimStat Free includes the Access Log and standard traffic reports; Pro adds the full live chart and admin-bar figures.
Which live features are free?
| Surface | Free | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Access Log | Recorded pageviews with filters | Included |
| Standard traffic reports | Included | Included |
| Minute-by-minute live chart | Preview | Full chart |
| Live admin-bar figures | Preview/placeholders | Live figures |
Reports reflect the visits your tracking, consent and exclusion settings allow. A live view is not a count of everyone with a browser tab open.
How fresh is the data?
Client mode sends an eligible pageview from the browser to WordPress. Server mode records eligible requests during PHP rendering. The Access Log shows stored records when loaded or refreshed; live Pro views refresh periodically. Browser visibility, network delays, caching and refresh settings affect the delay, so there is no universal maximum latency.
When is a live view useful?
Check whether a newsletter sends visitors to its intended landing page, whether a new article attracts readers, or whether a sudden traffic drop needs investigation. Use longer periods to compare channels and conversions; a few live visits are too small a sample to establish a trend.
SlimStat is a reporting tool, not an uptime monitor or an automated incident-alert service. Verify suspected problems with a real page or checkout test.
Set it up
- Install Free and configure consent before collecting traffic.
- Use Client tracking mode with a page cache. Server mode sees requests that reach PHP and can undercount cached pages.
- Exclude your own team if those visits are not part of the audience you want to measure.
- Open a public page in a private window, make the appropriate consent choice and find the matching Access Log row.
- Add Pro if you need the live chart, admin-bar figures or scheduled reporting. Activate Pro.
Can real-time tracking be cookieless?
SlimStat supports cookie controls and restricted tracking modes. In v6, anonymous identity and session handling differ from older versions. Removing a cookie does not make every other collected field anonymous; configure and test consent, IP protection and retention together.
Will it slow my site down?
Tracking and reports use your hosting. Cost depends on traffic, retention, database size and configuration. The v6 development work reduces measured database operations for specific reports; it is not a zero-overhead promise. Read the v6 evidence and upgrade notes.
Why are visits missing?
Check consent, exclusions, Client mode on cached sites, blocked scripts and the tracking endpoint. Follow the diagnostic checklist before changing multiple settings at once.