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

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 key”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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 #22 on merit, a gap of 17 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

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 27821 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 API KEY for Google Maps 30K+ · 4.9★ (55) wp.org #1 2 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too low 3 Ultimate Maps by Supsystic – OpenStreetMap, Leaflet & Mapbox, No API Key 10K+ · 4.6★ (86) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #8 ↓1 4 too low 5 Rich Showcase for Google Reviews 100K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #11 ↑2 6 too low 6 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #10 ↓4 3 too low 8 JWT Authentication for WP REST APIs 10K+ · 4.4★ (74) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too high 9 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #19 ↑3 10 too low 10 PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281) wp.org #12 ↓4 2 too low 11 Spam Protection | Maspik 30K+ · 4.7★ (87) wp.org #14 ↓4 3 too low 12 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #18 ↓6 6 too low 13 Anti-Spam Protection – No API Key, GDPR Friendly 1K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #7 ↑2 6 too high 14 WPGet API – Connect to any external REST API 10K+ · 5.0★ (32) wp.org #20 ↓4 6 too low 15 WP API SwaggerUI 2K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #15 ↓1 16 Contact Form to Any API 8K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #17 ↓2 1 too low 17 Disable XML-RPC-API 100K+ · 4.2★ (43) wp.org #23 ↓6 6 too low 18 Datafeedr API 4K+ · 4.0★ (13) wp.org #13 ↓2 5 too high 19 WP Consent API 200K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 ↓1 16 too high 20 Custom API for WP 1K+ · 4.8★ (45) wp.org #24 ↓4 4 too low 21 Squeeze – Browser-Based Image Compression & WebP Converter (No API, No Limits) 3K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 SteadFast API 8K+ · 3.3★ (3) wp.org #5 ↓1 17 too high 23 Key Manager – Effortlessly sell license keys, game keys, pin codes, gift cards, and more with WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 ↓3 2 too high 24 WooCommerce Legacy REST API 400K+ · 1.5★ (29) wp.org #16 8 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.