Chrome Web Store analytics: free dashboard vs the full picture

What the free dashboard gives you

Google's developer dashboard has a stats section for each item you publish. It's the only place you'll see real install and uninstall numbers, and it's free.

Use it first. If you already ship an extension, nothing outside the dashboard knows your numbers better. Our developer dashboard guide explains each stat.

What it can't do

It can't tell you:

• How a rival's user count changed this month.
• Which new launches in your category are getting traction.
• Which big extensions haven't updated in a year.
• Whether competitors charge.

Those need public data, recorded on repeat. How to read installs and ratings explains the limits.

For current numbers, open the Tools category page.

Chrome Web Store analytics, side by side

That last row is a no for everybody, because payments for extensions run through each developer's own Stripe, Paddle or similar account, and none of those numbers ever reach the public listing. Revenue isn't public.

What each dashboard metric means

The dashboard uses terms that sound alike. Here's what each one tells you, and what it doesn't.

The most useful number is the share of page views that turn into installs. If people visit but don't install, the listing isn't convincing them. If installs are fine but uninstalls follow, the tool isn't living up to the listing.

Setting a benchmark from public data

Your own numbers mean more next to the market. Public listings give you rough benchmarks. Here's how the whole store looked in our crawl on 3 Oct 2026.

If you've passed 1,000 weekly users, you're already ahead of nearly half the extensions with a readable count. For a fairer comparison, look at your niche on our niche pages, since a tab manager and an AI writing tool live in very different markets.

Traffic from outside the store

Many installs start somewhere else: a blog post, a video, a community thread. The dashboard shows where store visitors came from, but only in broad terms.

• Tag your links with a source parameter when you share them, so you can tell channels apart.
• Use your own site as a landing page for big posts, with a clear button to the store.
• Note dates of posts and launches in a simple log, so you can match spikes later.

This turns a vague "installs went up" into "the Tuesday tutorial brought 300 installs", which is something you can repeat.

Reading competitors' public numbers

For rivals, all you get is the listing. That's still a lot if you read it on repeat.

1. Users, as a rounded bucket.
2. Rating and rating count, the best sign of real activity.
3. Version and update date, to see who's still shipping.
4. Permissions, which hint at new features.

Our guide to reading competition explains how to turn these into decisions. The New launches page shows which young listings already have an audience.

Questions each source can answer

It helps to start from the question, then pick the source. Here's a quick guide.

No single tool answers all six. The dashboard covers the first two. Public data and a little reading cover the rest. Our guide to sizing competition shows how to answer the fourth in ten minutes.

Setting up events in your extension

The store's numbers stop at install. To know what users do after that, add a few events of your own. Keep it small and respectful of privacy.

1. First run completed, so you know who got started.
2. Main action used, counted per day.
3. Upgrade clickedand upgrade completed, if you charge.
4. Settings changed, to spot confusing defaults.

Declare what you collect in the dashboard's privacy fields and in your privacy policy. Collect counts, not page contents. Our guide to store policy covers what reviewers expect.

A monthly analytics review

Once a month, put both views side by side for half an hour.

• Your installs, uninstalls and weekly users, with the month's changes.
• Your rating count and average, with any new complaints.
• Five rivals' users, rating counts and update dates, from their listings.
• One decision for next month, written down.

The decision is the point. Analytics that don't change what you do are just numbers. You can pull rivals' listing facts from our extension search, each with the date we checked.

How to use both

1. Watch your own dashboard weekly for installs and uninstalls.
2. List your five closest competitors.
3. Track their users and rating counts on the same day each week.
4. Note any version updates and permission changes.
5. Check their websites monthly for pricing changes.

Ext Watch's extension pages show users, rating count, version and permissions for listings we've crawled. Our own history started on 2 Oct 2026, so day-by-day lines get more useful each week. We're biased, obviously.

A spreadsheet works too if you keep the dates.

Your dashboard tells you how you're doing. The market tells you why.

Start with the free dashboard. Add the market view when your question outgrows it.