wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “no api”
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 “no api”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20. 4 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 #2 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 14 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
Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 1667 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.
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821)
wp.org #6 5 too low 2 
PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281)
wp.org #4 2 too low 3 
Disable WP REST API 30K+ · 4.8★ (36)
wp.org #3 4 
API KEY for Google Maps 30K+ · 4.9★ (55)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519)
wp.org #14 ↓5 9 too low 6 
JWT Authentication for WP REST APIs 10K+ · 4.4★ (74)
wp.org #8 2 too low 7 
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778)
wp.org #16 9 too low 8 
WP Consent API 200K+ · 5.0★ (2) host-installed base thin reviews
wp.org #1 7 too high 9 
WPGet API – Connect to any external REST API 10K+ · 5.0★ (32)
wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too low 10 
FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410)
wp.org #21 11 too low 11 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667)
wp.org #24 13 too low 12 
Contact Form to Any API 8K+ · 5.0★ (28) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too high 13 
Datafeedr API 4K+ · 4.0★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #7 6 too high 14 
Disable XML-RPC-API 100K+ · 4.2★ (43)
wp.org #15 1 too low 15 
WP API SwaggerUI 2K+ · 5.0★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too high 16 SteadFast API 8K+ · 3.3★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviewslow rating, top placement
wp.org #2 14 too high 17 
JWT Authentication for WP REST API 60K+ · 4.4★ (53) not PHP-current
wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too low 18 
Custom API for WP 1K+ · 4.8★ (45) throws errorsnot PHP-current
wp.org #19 ↑1 1 too low 19 R REST API Log 5K+ · 3.6★ (24) thin reviews
wp.org #17 2 too high 20 
JSON API User 1K+ · 3.9★ (21) thin reviews
wp.org #23 ↑1 3 too low 21 
JSON API Auth 600+ · 4.7★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #22 1 too low 22 
SMNTCS Disable REST API User Endpoints 8K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #18 4 too high 23 
Emalls Extraction API – Official 9K+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #10 ↑1 13 too high 24 
WooCommerce Legacy REST API 400K+ · 1.5★ (29) host-installed base
wp.org #12 ↑1 12 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.