About Addon Radar

Addon Radar helps you find World of Warcraft Retail addons you haven’t heard of yet. It tracks CurseForge download counts every hour and ranks addons by recent downloads (Hot) and by how fast their downloads are growing (Rising).

Use the version switch to browse Retail or Forever. Rankings compare compatible projects within each flavor. A shared addon can rank differently in each catalog, while a surge in Retail downloads can also lift it on Forever. These lists show which trending projects support Forever; they cannot establish which addons Forever players download most.

Who maintains it

Built and run by Pawsty. Addon authors own and support their addons; for help with one, go to its CurseForge page.

Where the data comes from

Names, descriptions, images, categories, download counts and file details come from CurseForge. Descriptions are written by each addon’s author. Download counts cover every game version the addon supports, so they aren’t flavor-specific installs or unique players. Addon Radar doesn’t review or test addons.

How often it updates

Data syncs every hour. Now and 24h rankings update with each sync, 7d rankings every six hours, and 30d rankings once a day. Descriptions and file details can take a little longer to catch up. If a sync is missed, that stretch shows up as a gap in the charts, not as zero downloads.

How Hot and Rising work

Hot: Lesser-known addons that players are downloading the most.

Rising: Smaller addons whose downloads are growing fastest.

  • Now covers the last six hours and 24h the last day; 7d and 30d use full UTC days.
  • Activity reflects downloads across all supported WoW versions.
  • Scores only compare addons within the same list and period, and they aren't quality ratings.
  • Rank changes appear once there's enough history to compare.

Rising dampens very small download counts, so a handful of downloads can’t send an addon to the top. The best ranks shown on addon pages go back as far as Addon Radar’s recorded history, not to each addon’s release.

Before you install

A high rank means people are downloading an addon, not that it’s good or that it suits your setup. Retail file details are what the author lists on CurseForge; they aren’t tested in-game. Addon pages compare them with the reference Retail patch, 12.1, taken from Blizzard’s release notes. Check the addon’s CurseForge page for the latest file, supported versions and required addons.