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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “rest”

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 “rest”, 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

WooCommerce Legacy REST API shows at wp.org #4 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 400K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.5★ average from 29 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin places #10 on merit, 4.4★ from 1445 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 Disable WP REST API 30K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #1 2 JWT Authentication for WP REST APIs 10K+ · 4.4★ (74) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 WP REST Cache 10K+ · 4.9★ (42) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #11 7 too low 5 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #7 ↓3 2 too low 6 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #13 ↓4 7 too low 7 WPGet API – Connect to any external REST API 10K+ · 5.0★ (32) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too low 8 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too low 9 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #16 ↓4 7 too low 10 Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #19 9 too low 11 R REST API Log 5K+ · 3.6★ (24) wp.org #5 6 too high 12 JWT Authentication for WP REST API 60K+ · 4.4★ (53) wp.org #8 ↓2 4 too high 13 BackWPup – WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin 400K+ · 4.0★ (1323) wp.org #14 ↑3 1 too low 14 Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 Infinity23 (Formerly Tag Manager) – One Plugin That Replaces All The Rest 20K+ · 4.7★ (53) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 Simple JWT Login – Allows you to use JWT on REST endpoints. 4K+ · 5.0★ (47) wp.org #20 4 too low 17 CoCart – Headless REST API for WooCommerce 900+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #10 7 too high 18 SMNTCS Disable REST API User Endpoints 8K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 ↑1 12 too high 19 WPSSO REST API 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #17 ↓4 2 too high 20 REST API Guard 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 ↑3 8 too high 21 REST API Manager For ACF 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too low 22 WooCommerce Legacy REST API 400K+ · 1.5★ (29) wp.org #4 18 too high 23 B Batch REST Guard 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 REST API blocks 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 ↓2

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.