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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “api authentication”

wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →

For “api authentication”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 5 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.

wp.org search ranks on

Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.

We add

A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

SteadFast API shows at wp.org #5 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 8K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.3★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 5209 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 JWT Authentication for WP REST APIs 10K+ · 4.4★ (74) wp.org #1 2 WP 2FA – Two-factor authentication for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (184) wp.org #2 3 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 JWT Authentication for WP REST API 60K+ · 4.4★ (53) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Two Factor Authentication 20K+ · 4.4★ (77) wp.org #6 7 Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ · 4.9★ (8869) wp.org #15 ↑4 8 too low 8 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #20 12 too low 9 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #24 ↓1 15 too low 10 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #22 ↓2 12 too low 11 Contact Form to Any API 8K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 FluentAuth – Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication, Passkeys & Social Login 10K+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 Captcha Code 100K+ · 3.9★ (35) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 WPGet API – Connect to any external REST API 10K+ · 5.0★ (32) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too low 15 WP API SwaggerUI 2K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 Custom API for WP 1K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #16 ↓1 17 WP Basic Authentication 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #8 9 too high 18 JSON API Auth 600+ · 4.7★ (11) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 JSON API User 1K+ · 3.9★ (21) wp.org #19 ↓1 20 CoCart – Headless REST API for WooCommerce 900+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #23 ↑1 3 too low 21 SteadFast API 8K+ · 3.3★ (3) wp.org #5 16 too high 22 Two Factor (2FA) Authentication via Email 9K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too high 23 Simple REST API Authenticaton with WooCommerce Credentials 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 WooCommerce Legacy REST API 400K+ · 1.5★ (29) wp.org #13 11 too high

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.