9 Best JWT Authentication for WP REST API Alternatives in 2026
Updated September 7, 2026 · Ranked by how closely each plugin matches, from WordPress.org data · How this works
JWT Authentication for WP REST API has 60,000+ active installs on WordPress.org. These 9 plugins share its category or its tags on WordPress.org, are actively maintained, and each has at least 100 active installs. They are ordered by how closely they match, not by our opinion.
The 9 closest alternatives to JWT Authentication for WP REST API
- 1
JWT Auth
Closest matchJWT Auth – WordPress JSON Web Token Authentication
5.0 (22) 6,000+ active installsCreate JSON Web Token Authentication in WordPress.
Shares the jwt tag on WordPress.org. 6,000+ installs against 60,000+, no update since May 7, 2024.
- 2
4.6 (64) 10,000+ active installsSimple secure login and user management through your Google Workspace for WordPress (using oAuth2 and MFA if enabled).
Shares the oauth tag on WordPress.org. 10,000+ installs against 60,000+, rated 4.6 against 4.4, no update since May 8, 2025.
- 3
4.1 (103) 10,000+ active installsConnect to Gmail SMTP server to automatically send email from your WordPress site. Configure wp_mail() to use SMTP with OAuth 2.0 authentication.
Shares the oauth tag on WordPress.org. 10,000+ installs against 60,000+, rated 4.1 against 4.4, last updated 12 days ago.
- 4
WordPress REST API (Version 2)
4.2 (34) 10,000+ active installsAccess your site's data through an easy-to-use HTTP REST API. (Version 2)
Shares the rest-api tag on WordPress.org. 10,000+ installs against 60,000+, no update since November 28, 2017.
- 5
4.8 (38) 80,000+ active installsDisable the use of the REST API on your website to site users. Now with User Role support!
Shares the rest-api tag on WordPress.org. A similar number of installs, no update since September 14, 2023.
- 6
4.8 (36) 30,000+ active installsDisables the WP REST API for visitors not logged into WordPress.
Shares the rest-api tag on WordPress.org. About half the installs, last updated 28 days ago.
- 7
4.4 (74) 10,000+ active installsSecure and protect WordPress REST API from unauthorized access using JWT token, Basic Authentication, API Key, OAuth 2, or external token.
Shares the rest-api tag on WordPress.org. 10,000+ installs against 60,000+, last updated 5 days ago.
- 8
4.9 (48) 30,000+ active installsWPGraphQL adds a flexible and powerful GraphQL API to WordPress, enabling efficient querying and interaction with your site's data.
Shares the rest-api tag on WordPress.org. About half the installs, last updated 3 days ago.
- 9
Contact Form to Any API
Paid version available5.0 (28) 8,000+ active installsSend Contact Form 7 submissions to any API, Webhook or CRM — quick setup, flexible payloads, endpoints and authentication.
Shares the rest-api tag on WordPress.org. 8,000+ installs against 60,000+, last updated August 6, 2026.
Switching from JWT Authentication for WP REST API: common questions
What is the best alternative to JWT Authentication for WP REST API?
JWT Auth is the closest match: it shares the same WordPress.org tags and has 6,000+ active installs with a 5.0 out of 5 rating.
Which JWT Authentication for WP REST API alternative has the most users?
Disable REST API, with 80,000+ active installs reported by WordPress.org.
Which JWT Authentication for WP REST API alternative is rated highest?
Login for Google Apps, rated 4.6 out of 5 by 64 reviewers. Only plugins with at least 50 reviews are counted.
Are these JWT Authentication for WP REST API alternatives free?
Every plugin listed here is free to install from WordPress.org. Where WordPress.org marks a plugin as commercial, the developer also sells a paid version or add-ons, and that is shown on each plugin.
How are alternatives chosen?
Automatically, from WordPress.org data: plugins that share a category top 10 with JWT Authentication for WP REST API score highest, then plugins that appear in the same WordPress.org rankings, then plugins with the same tags, weighted so rare tags count more than common ones. Plugins by the same author and plugins rated under 4.0 are left out.
How we choose these alternatives
Nothing on this page is picked by hand. Every day we walk the whole WordPress.org directory, then score every plugin against JWT Authentication for WP REST API on three signals: sharing a category top 10 counts most, then appearing in the same WordPress.org rankings, then carrying the same tags, with rare tags counting for more than common ones like "wordpress". Plugins by the same author are excluded, so an author's own add-ons cannot fill the list, and so is anything rated below 4.0 or with fewer than 100 active installs. The ten highest scores are what you see, in that order. Full methodology.
The bottom line
JWT Auth is the closest match to JWT Authentication for WP REST API by the data we track, and Disable REST API has the widest reach with 80,000+ active installs. WPGraphQL shipped the most recent release, on September 4, 2026. The list is rebuilt every day from WordPress.org, so a plugin that stops being maintained drops out on its own.
Weekly · free
What moved this week
One email a week, built from the same daily snapshots these rankings come from: the plugins that climbed, what launched, and one ranking worth a look.