In this article, I am going to list 30 free WordPress Plugins using WordPress REST API. I will also list some resources to learn more about WP REST API? Recently I have also published a blog post about 30 Free Most Popular WordPress plugins of the year.

Note: At the time of publishing 26 plugins were listed in this article, i have added few more plugins later.

What is WP REST API?

According to WordPress REST API github page, WordPress is moving towards becoming a fully-fledged application framework, and as a WordPres developers, we need new APIs. WP-API project was born to create an easy-to-use, easy-to-understand and well-tested framework for creating these APIs, plus creating APIs for core.

WP-API plugin provides an easy to use REST API, available via HTTP. As a WordPress developer, you can grab your site’s data in simple JSON format, including users, posts, taxonomies and more. This plugin also makes it simple and easy to retrieve or update data sending a HTTP request.

Sarah Gooding published a blog post about WordPress Plugins using WP REST API, in her article, she has listed that WordPress.org Has Fewer Than 20 WordPress Plugins Using the WP REST API (Plugins identified by Mika Epstein) in Core.

I decided to write a short description of all the plugins using WP REST API. I have also found and added few more plugin in this list.

Popular and New WordPress Plugins using WordPress REST API

1. Custom Contact Forms

Contact forms are one of the most important part of any website. Custom Contact Forms allows you to build beautiful custom forms and manage submissions the WordPress way. You can view live previews of your forms while you build them.

Custom Contact Forms is the most popular plugin which uses WordPress REST API. Taylor Lovett, the author of Custom Contact Forms, believes that it’s important to get REST API-powered plugins into the hands of users, despite the support challenges of public distribution.

WPtavern recently posted that Custom Contact Forms has just passed one million downloads after nearly six years in the WordPress Plugin Directory.

Download Custom Contact Forms
Active Installs: 70,000+
Total Downloads : 1+ million
Developer : Taylor Lovett

2. Maps by Storelocator Plus

You can use this free plugin to add a location finder or directory to your WordPress website quickly and easily. Many premium add-ons are also available.

The base plugin, available for free from the WordPress Plugin Directory has all the features you need to create a comprehensive store locator interface on your website.

Download Maps by Store Locator Plus
Active Installs: 10,000+
Developer: Lance Cleveland and DeBAAT

3. WP REST API (Version 2)

This plugin requires WordPress 4.4 or higher. WP REST API (Version 2) plugin provides an easy to use REST API, available via HTTP. Grab your site’s data in simple JSON format, including users, posts, taxonomies and more. Retrieving or updating data is as simple as sending a HTTP request.

Download WP REST API (Version 2)
Active Installs: 9,000+
Plugin Developer: Ryan McCue, Rachel Baker, Daniel Bachhuber, Joe Hoyle

4. ACF to WP-API

This free plugin Puts all Advance Custom Fields, from posts, pages, custom post types, comments, attachments and taxonomy terms, into the WP-API output under the ‘acf’ key. This plugin requires WordPress 3.9.0 or higher.

Download ACF to WP-API
Active Installs: 1,000+
Plugin Authors: Chris Hutchinson, Kokarn, Ramvi

5. WP API Menus

WP API Menus WordPress plugin extends the WordPress JSON REST API with new routes for WordPress registered menus. This plugin requires WordPress 3.6 or higher.

The new routes available will be:

• /menus list of every registered menu.
• /menus/ data for a specific menu.
• /menu-locations list of all registered theme locations.
• /menu-locations/ data for menu in specified menu in theme location.

You can read plugin description to learn more about this plugin.

Download WP API Menus
Active Installs: 700+
Plugin Author: Fulvio Notarstefano

6. ACF to WP REST API

It was the original plugin created by Aires Gonçalves but now it is discontinued, he has developed version 2 of this plugin known as ACF to REST API.

ACF to WP REST API was used to Put ACF data into the WP-REST-API ( WP-API | WordPress JSON API ). You were able to customize the answer using filters but remember this version was discontinued.

Download ACF to REST API
Active Installs: 400+
Developer : Aires Gonçalves

7. ACF to REST API

ACF to REST API is developed by Aires Gonçalves. You can use this plugin to Edit, Get and Puts ACF data into the WordPress REST API ( WP-API | WP REST API ). To learn more about this plugin you can [ACF to REST AP Github Page](visit http://github.com/airesvsg/acf-to-rest-api). ACF to REST API version 2.0.6 requires WordPress 4.3 of higher.

Download ACF to REST API
Active Installs: 200+
Developer : Aires Gonçalves

8. JWT Authentication for WP REST API

JWT Authentication for WP REST API requires WordPress 4.2 or higher and Minimum PHP version 5.3.0. According to plugin description JWT Authentication for WP REST API plugin was conceived to extend the WP REST API V2 plugin features and, of course, was built on top of it. So, to use the wp-api-jwt-auth you need to install and activate WP REST API.

Don’t forget to read the plugin description to learn more about plugin requirements.

Download JWT Authentication for WP REST API
Active Installs: 100+
Plugin Author: tmeister

9. Tabulate

Tabulate is created by Sam Wilson. This plugin requires WordPress 4.2 or higher.

With this free plugin, you can manage relational tabular data within the WordPress admin area, using the full power of your MySQL database. Tabulate provides a simple user-friendly interface to tables in your database.

This plugin also allows you to import CSV data, with the UI supporting column mapping, data validation, and previewing prior to final import. If an imported row has a value for the Primary Key, the existing row will be overwritten. Data can be exported to CSV, including after filters have been applied.

This plugin offers 10 different features, you can read more about all features at plugin page.

Download Tabulate
Active Installs: 100+
Developer: Sam Wilson

10. WP REST API Log – 100+

WP REST API Log is created by Pete Nelson, it requires WordPress 4.0 or higher. You can use this plugin to log WP REST API requests and responses (for v2 of the API). This plugin Includes:

• WordPress admin page to view and search log entries
• API endpoint to access log entries via JSON
• Filters to customize logging

Download WP REST API Log
Active Installs: 100+
Developer: Pete Nelson

11. Dashboard Directory Size

This is another plugin after WP REST API Log plugin created by Pete Nelson which uses WP Rest API. Dashboard Directory Size requires WordPress 4.0 or higher.

Dashboard Directory Size plugin creates a dashboard widget that displays a list of common WordPress directories and their sizes. Handy if you need to keep an eye on the size of your WordPress install. Custom directories can also be configured.

Download Dashboard Directory Size
Active Installs: 100+
Developer: Pete Nelson

12. WPML to WP API – 100+

WPML to WP API Allows you to request a language with your WP-API and WPML site.

This plugin will allow you to fetch the WP-API (WP-JSON-API) call with a “lang” variable. It will retrieve the right content from WPML/WP.

This only works with WPML and WP-API installed. The developer has tested only with the latest version as of now: * WPML 3.1.9.6 * WP REST API 1.2.1.

Download WPML to WP API
Active Installs: 100+
developer: ryuheixys

13. REST API Post Embeds

This plugin allows you to use the jeherve_post_embed shortcode to embed posts from your site or others’ anywhere on your site.

When creating the shortcode, you can use any of the 20 shortcode parameters to make sure the embed will include the posts you want to display, and will look the way you want it to look.

You can only pull posts from WordPress.com sites, websites using the Jetpack plugin, with the JSON API module and websites using the REST API plugin, by adding wpapi=”true” to your shortcode parameters.

Download REST API Post Embeds
Active Installs: 50+
Developer: Jeremy Herve

14. SearchWP API

This plugin is created by Josh Pollock and requires WordPress 4.3.1 or higher. This plugin run advanced searches via the WordPress REST API and SearchWP. Technically this plugin will work without SearchWP, but queries will run through WP_Query.

SearchWP API plugin requires WordPress REST API (WP-API) 2.0-beta9 or later, WordPress 4.4 or later and SearchWP Version 2.6 or later.

Download SearchWP API
Active Installs: 20+
Developer: Josh Pollock

15. Prayers – less than 10

If you are an organization, You can use Prayers WordPress plugins to share, update, and manage prayer requests via your website. Prayers also provides JSON feeds for other services to consume and requires the WP REST API (https://wordpress.org/plugins/rest-api/) be installed and activated first. You can access the Feeds through the Prayer admin menu.

This plugin requires WordPress 4.3 or higher.

Download Prayers
Active Installs: Less than 10
Developer: Kaleb

16. Invitations for Slack

Slack is a cloud-based team collaboration tool co-founded by Stewart Butterfield, Eric Costello, Cal Henderson, and Serguei Mourachov.[1] Slack began as an internal tool used by their company Tiny Speck in the development of Glitch, a now defunct online game. WikiPedia

Slack is a real-time messaging, archiving and search for modern teams. Invitations for Slack WordPress plugin requires WordPress 4.4 or higher. This free plugin lets you build a Slack community by allowing your visitors (or registered users) to invite themselves to your Slack team. To use this plugin Slack team and the team’s access token is required.

Download Invitations for Slack
Active Installs: Less than 10
Developer: rheinardkorf

17. WP-Restify – less than 10

This free plugin has less than 10 active installs, no description is available. According to WordPress plugin page this plugin is compatible up to WordPress 1.0.1. I think the developer was trying to test his plugin.

Download WP-Restify
Active Installs: Less than 10
Author: Mastersoftwaresolutions

18. REST Routes

This plugin is created by wp-making, version 1.0 requires WordPress 3.0.1 or higher.

If you want to extend the WP REST API without touching a single line of PHP? That can be easily done with Rest Routes plugin. It lets you build fresh new endpoints with custom filters and output. All from inside of the WP dashboard side.

A couple of available filters:

• Default Post Types
• Default Taxonomies
• Post Status
• Post Parent
• Post ID
• Post Author
• Ordering
• Limit & Offset

Download REST Routes
Active Installs: Less than 10
Developer: WP Making

19. WP API Categories + Tags – 10+

WP API Categories + Tags plugin will allow the inclusion of a given posts categories and tags in both reading from and writing to the WP REST API.

Plugin developer judahnator has also included a few of his own endpoints, (found at: /wp-json/e_ct/v1/) “categories” and “tags.” These endpoints will print out all categories on that site, and if you provide a post ID it will give you the categories/tags for that post.

Download WP API Categories + Tags
Active Installs: 10+
developer: judahnator

20. SJF WP API Shortcode

This plugin offers developers a simple block of code for hello-worlding the WP API, and a shortcode to watch it in action: [wp_api]. Activate this plugin and use the shortcode [wp_api] in a post or page. It takes a few different arguments that are documented in the plugin source code.

SJF WP API Shortcode requires WordPress 3.4.2 or higher.

Download SJF WP API Shortcode
Active Installs: 10+
Developer: Scott Fennell

21. WP REST API Sidebars – less than 10

This plugin created by njetskive and requires WordPress 4.4 or higher. This is an extension for the WP REST API that exposes endpoints for sidebars and widgets.

According to plugin description this plugin is under heavy development and will receive frequent feature updates (including documentation) so stay tuned and checkout the github repo for the latest updates.
Download WP REST API Sidebars
Active Installs: Less than 10
Developer: njetskive

22. WPRestApiExtensions – less than 10

This plugin extends the WP-REST API with custom read only endpoints. From within the plugin, there is an option to deploy a cache in front of this REST API. When you deploy it, be warned that the folder “rest-api” will be created in the root of your webserver.

WPRestApiExtensions requires WordPress 4.3.1 or higher.

Download WPRestApiExtensions
Active Installs: Less than 10
Developer: Larjen

23. WP REST API multilanguage (over WMPL) – 100+ downloads

This Plugin will allow you to fetch the WP REST API call with a “lang” variable. It will retrieve the right content from WPML. WP REST API multilanguage (over WMPL) requires WordPress 4.3.0 or higher and Tested with the latest version of WPML 3.2.7 and WP REST API 2.0-beta4.

Download WP REST API multilanguage (over WMPL)
Active Installs: Less than 10
Developer: elemind

24. WP API Shortcodes

This is a simple Shortcode Plugin to get WordPress data from WP REST API(Version2). You can use [wpapi-posts] Shortcode. This shortcode can get many data from WP REST API (Version2).

This plugin requires WordPress 4.1.0 or higher.

Download WP API Shortcodes
Active Installs: Less than 10
Developer: https://wordpress.org/plugins/wpapi-shortcode-and-widgets/

25. ajax Post Comment

Ajax Post Comment plugin makes your website’s comment form ajax friendly. It means when user (including both subscriber, normal viewer, and admins too) post comment your web page won’t load again.

According to plugin developer most themes supports this plugin, but if your theme’s class_form have not comment-form, this plugin non-supported.

And this plugin only can use for Pure WordPress Comment form. so, its not able to be used with like Jetpack comment form and other original/outside comment system/form.

This plugin requires WordPress 4.4 or higher and WP REST API v2.

Download ajax Post Comment
Active Installs: Less than 10
Developer: Hinaloe

26. Rest API Widgets

This is simple WordPress Plugins using WP REST API. It requires WordPress 4.3.1 or higher. You can use following Widgets.

• Comment form if the comment is closed, this widget is hidden.
• Comment List if the comment is closed, this widget is hidden.
• Post List Default: recently 10 posts.

Download Rest API Widgets
Active Installs: Less than 10
Developer: [Okamoto Hidetaka](Okamoto Hidetaka)

Update

Today i found few more WordPress plugin Thermal, that gives you the power of WP_Query in a RESTful API. So i am going to add all these plugins in the list as well. I will keep updating this article.

27 Thermal API

Thermal is the WordPress plugin that gives you the power of WP_Query in a RESTful API. Thermal supports client-based decisions that when combined with a responsive design framework, allow for a truly responsive application leveraging a WordPress content source.

This plugin requires PHP >= 5.3.0 and WordPress 3.6 of higher. This plugin was updated almost a year ago and compatible up to WordPress 4.1.10 but you can give it a try.

Download Thermal API
Active Installs: 500+
Developer: Voce Platforms team

28 Adobe Lightroom to WordPress with Envira Gallery

Envira Gallery’s Adobe Lightroom Addon was launched last week utilizes the REST API. This is another product by Syed Balkhi founder of the most popular website to learn WordPress wpbeginner.com.

Syed Balkhi commented on Sarah’s post at wptavern that it’s a premium add-on, the REST API was essential to allow users to create WordPress galleries straight from Adobe Lightroom and keep that in sync.

Adobe Lightroom to WordPress with Envira Gallery add-on allow users to upload photos from Adobe Lightroom to WordPress. It is a premium add-on. You can learn more about this add-on in Syed Balkhi’s post Introducing Adobe Lightroom to WordPress with Envira Gallery.

Buy Adobe Lightroom to WordPress with Envira Gallery
Developer: Syed Balkhi & Team

29 Application Passwords

According to George Stephanis application-passwords and hugh use it and are both in the repo.

**[Application Passwords}(https://wordpress.org/plugins/application-passwords/): ** A feature plugin for the core to provide Application Passwords. This plugin requires WordPress 4.4 or higher.

Download Application Passwords
Active Installs: Less than 10

Jetpack will use it in the 4.0 release in a couple months (missed 3.9 because of timing).

30 Hugh

Hugh is a widget that will let visitors to your website change the color scheme, and then push out their new color scheme to everyone else who happens to be viewing your site at that time.

There is a history of recent colors, and visitors can even get into ‘color battles’ fighting over who gets to determine the color scheme.

This plugin requires WordPress 4.4 or higher.

Download Hugh
Active Installs: Less than 10
Developer: Michael Arestad, George Stephanis

31. WordPress Crosspost

WordPress Crosspost is one of my favorite plugin,which lets you use WordPress.com as a backup service for your self hosted WordPress blog. Simply install WordPress Cross post plugin, activate it and connect this plugin to your WordPress.com account. You can select any of your wordpress.com blog for cross posting.

Now whenever you will publish a blog post on your self hosted WordPress blog, WordPress Crosspost will create a post on your wordpress.com blog. I love this free plugin.

WordPress Crosspost requires WordPress 3.1 or higher. WordPress CrossPost is created by Meitar Moscovitz, an open source software developer and technology consultant.

This plugin uses WordPress.com’s REST API to keep posts in sync; when you edit your WordPress post, it updates your crossposted post.

Download WordPress Crosspost
Active Installs: Less than 300+
Developer: Meitar Moscovitz

Final Words

I have listed more than two dozens free WordPress Plugins using WordPress REST API. I hope this list will be helpful for you. feel free to share this post with others.