WP REST API Key Authentication vs JWT Authentication for WP REST APIs

Head-to-head on the signals that matter, from the public WordPress.org data.

Health D53

Health A87

Active-install trajectory

JWT Authentication for WP REST APIs moved down one install band, 20K+ to 10K+. That's a single step across the whole window, so there's no trajectory to draw. The download trend below moves daily.

Metric	WP REST API Key Authentication	JWT Authentication for WP REST APIs
Active installs Modeled from the public "N+" band and recent downloads.	10–20	10K–20K ✓
Install trend Change in active installs across the charted window.	0% ✓	-50%
Overall health	—	A · 87 ✓
Maintenance How recently the plugin was updated.	31/100	100/100 ✓
Rating quality Volume-adjusted review quality.	—	85/100 ✓
Support Share of forum threads marked resolved.	—	70/100 ✓
Rating (weighted for review count)	—	4.3★ ✓
Reviews	0	74 ✓
Ranking optimization How well the listing is tuned to rank on wp.org.	63/100	97/100 ✓
Removal risk Maintenance signals that precede a wp.org closure. Not an official status.	Low	Low
Last updated	1.8y ago	25d ago ✓
Downloads · 30d	61	13.4K ✓
Install conversion Active installs over lifetime downloads. Downloads include every update, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower.	0.8%	1.7% ✓
Category	Security	Uncategorized

✓ marks the stronger plugin on each row. Rows where they're level show no marker.

Release activity

WP REST API Key AuthenticationJWT Authentication for WP REST APIs

7-day average daily downloads. Downloads spike for about a week after each release as the install base re-downloads, so read this as release cadence, not growth.