diff --git a/src/components/ApiCard.tsx b/src/components/ApiCard.tsx
index 71ad9f3..6d6eda1 100644
--- a/src/components/ApiCard.tsx
+++ b/src/components/ApiCard.tsx
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import type { APIItem } from "../data/mockApis";
 import RatingHistogram from "./RatingHistogram";
 import { useCompareStore, compareStore } from "../state/compareStore";
 import Sparkline from "./Sparkline";
+import WhyApi from "./WhyApi";
 
 // ─── Skeleton ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
@@ -506,6 +507,9 @@ export default function ApiCard({
         ))}
       </div>
 
+      {/* "Why this API?" rationale — hidden in compact rows to keep them dense. */}
+      {!isCompact && <WhyApi api={api} />}
+
       <div
   style={{
     marginTop: 10,
diff --git a/src/components/WhyApi.tsx b/src/components/WhyApi.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f4a03bb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/components/WhyApi.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
+/**
+ * WhyApi.tsx
+ *
+ * Accessible "Why this API?" rationale surfaced on the marketplace ApiCard.
+ *
+ * It derives a short, human-readable list of reasons an API was recommended
+ * from the metrics already present on the {@link APIItem} (rating, uptime,
+ * latency, price and category). The reasons are revealed through a native
+ * disclosure pattern: a toggle button (`aria-expanded` + `aria-controls`)
+ * controlling a region, so it is fully keyboard-operable and announced
+ * correctly by screen readers (WCAG 2.1 AA).
+ */
+
+import { useId, useState } from "react";
+import type { APIItem } from "../data/mockApis";
+
+/** Build the list of recommendation reasons from the API's metrics. */
+export function buildReasons(api: APIItem): string[] {
+  const reasons: string[] = [];
+
+  if (api.rating !== undefined && api.rating >= 4.5) {
+    reasons.push(`Highly rated by developers (${api.rating.toFixed(1)} / 5)`);
+  }
+  if (api.uptimePercent !== undefined && api.uptimePercent >= 99.9) {
+    reasons.push(`Reliable uptime (${api.uptimePercent.toFixed(2)}%)`);
+  }
+  if (api.avgLatencyMs !== undefined && api.avgLatencyMs <= 150) {
+    reasons.push(`Fast responses (~${api.avgLatencyMs} ms average latency)`);
+  }
+
+  const price = api.pricePerCall ?? api.pricePerRequest;
+  if (price !== undefined && price <= 0.005) {
+    reasons.push("Cost-effective pricing per call");
+  }
+  if (api.category) {
+    reasons.push(`Popular choice in ${api.category}`);
+  }
+
+  // Always provide at least one reason so the affordance is never empty.
+  if (reasons.length === 0) {
+    reasons.push("Matches your search and category filters");
+  }
+  return reasons;
+}
+
+interface WhyApiProps {
+  api: APIItem;
+}
+
+export default function WhyApi({ api }: WhyApiProps) {
+  const [open, setOpen] = useState(false);
+  const regionId = useId();
+  const reasons = buildReasons(api);
+
+  return (
+    <div
+      className="why-api"
+      // Card is itself clickable; keep these interactions local to the disclosure.
+      onClick={(e) => e.stopPropagation()}
+      style={{ marginTop: 4 }}
+    >
+      <button
+        type="button"
+        className="why-api__toggle ghost-button"
+        aria-expanded={open}
+        aria-controls={regionId}
+        onClick={() => setOpen((o) => !o)}
+        style={{
+          display: "inline-flex",
+          alignItems: "center",
+          gap: 4,
+          fontSize: 12,
+          fontWeight: 600,
+          color: "var(--accent)",
+          background: "none",
+          border: "none",
+          padding: 0,
+          cursor: "pointer",
+        }}
+      >
+        <span aria-hidden="true">{open ? "▾" : "▸"}</span>
+        Why this API?
+      </button>
+
+      {open && (
+        <ul
+          id={regionId}
+          className="why-api__reasons"
+          aria-label={`Why ${api.name} is recommended`}
+          style={{
+            margin: "6px 0 0",
+            padding: 0,
+            listStyle: "none",
+            display: "flex",
+            flexDirection: "column",
+            gap: 4,
+          }}
+        >
+          {reasons.map((reason, i) => (
+            <li
+              key={i}
+              style={{
+                display: "flex",
+                alignItems: "flex-start",
+                gap: 6,
+                fontSize: 12,
+                color: "var(--muted)",
+              }}
+            >
+              <span aria-hidden="true" style={{ color: "var(--accent)" }}>
+                ✓
+              </span>
+              <span>{reason}</span>
+            </li>
+          ))}
+        </ul>
+      )}
+    </div>
+  );
+}