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Best Free WordPress Plugins for Rest-Api

15 plugins compared · Updated August 2026 · Rest-api

All 15 Free only Premium only

Choosing a WordPress plugin for rest api comes down to a few things: whether it is still actively maintained, whether real users rate it well, and whether it does the specific job you need without dragging the rest of the site down.

We ranked 15 plugins using our WPScore, which weighs the user rating (adjusted for how many people actually rated it), how many sites run it, how recently it was updated, and which WordPress version it is tested against. 15 of them have enough public data to be scored; the rest are listed below the ranked block, clearly marked, rather than being given a number we cannot justify.

How this list is funded. Some links here earn us a commission if you buy. It costs you nothing extra, and it does not move anything up the list — the order comes from the WPScore, which is calculated from public ratings, install counts and update history. See the method.

At a glance

  1. 1. WPGraphQL Best overall 87/100
  2. 2. Disable WP REST API 86/100
  3. 3. Contact Form to Any API 85/100
  4. 4. JWT Authentication for WP REST APIs 84/100
  5. 5. SMNTCS Disable REST API User Endpoints 83/100
  6. 6. Enable Abilities for MCP 82/100
  7. 7. Custom API for WP 81/100
  8. 8. CoCart 81/100
  9. 9. Disabler 80/100
  10. 10. JWT Authentication for WP REST API 79/100
  11. 11. REST API Log 79/100
  12. 12. Logged-in-only 78/100
  13. 13. WPSSO REST API 77/100
  14. 14. Mescio for Agents 76/100
  15. 15. Init View Count 76/100
1 WPGraphQL
Best overall Free by Jason Bahl

WPGraphQL

WPGraphQL adds a flexible and powerful GraphQL API to WordPress, enabling efficient querying and interaction with your site's data.

4.9★
from 48 ratings
30k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
3 Contact Form to Any API
Free by IT Path Solutions

Contact Form to Any API

Send Contact Form 7 submissions to any API, Webhook or CRM — quick setup, flexible payloads, endpoints and authentication.

5★
from 28 ratings
8k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
6 Enable Abilities for MCP
Free by Fabio Montenegro

Enable Abilities for MCP

Manage which WordPress Abilities are exposed to MCP servers. Supports WooCommerce, The Events Calendar, and any custom post type.

5★
from 9 ratings
2k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
7 Custom API for WP
Free by miniOrange

Custom API for WP

Connect WordPress with External APIs and create no-code custom WordPress REST API endpoints to interact with the WordPress database to perform SQL ope …

4.8★
from 45 ratings
1k+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
8 CoCart
Free by CoCart Headless

CoCart

Ship your headless WooCommerce storefront faster. CoCart is the REST API built for Next.js, React, Vue, and any modern frontend — developer-first.

4.9★
from 21 ratings
900+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
9 Disabler
Free by saas

Disabler

Instead of installing a million plugins to disable features you don't want, why not use just ONE plugin?

5★
from 6 ratings
900+
active installs
Updated
Jul 2026
Tested to
WP 7.0.4
13 WPSSO REST API
Free by JS Morisset

WPSSO REST API

Extends the WordPress REST API post, term, and user query results with an array of meta tags and Schema JSON-LD markup.

5★
from 6 ratings
100+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1
14 Mescio for Agents
Free by Mescio

Mescio for Agents

Mescio for Agents serves your WordPress content as clean Markdown to AI agents and GPT crawlers. Human visitors never notice a thing.

5★
from 1 ratings
300+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 6.9.7
15 Init View Count
Free by Init HTML

Init View Count

Count post views accurately via REST API with customizable display. Lightweight, fast, and extensible. Includes shortcode with multiple layouts.

5★
from 3 ratings
100+
active installs
Updated
Aug 2026
Tested to
WP 7.1