Specify a Vary: Accept-Encoding Header vs Speed Optimizer

Head-to-head on the signals that matter, from the public WordPress.org data.

Health D44

Health A85

Active-install trajectory

Specify a Vary: Accept-Encoding Header moved down one install band, 300+ to 200+. That's a single step across the whole window, so there's no trajectory to draw. The download trend below moves daily.

Metric	Specify a Vary: Accept-Encoding Header	Speed Optimizer
Active installs Modeled from the public "N+" band and recent downloads.	200–300	1M–2M ✓
Install trend Change in active installs across the charted window.	-33%	0% ✓
Overall health	D · 44	A · 85 ✓
Maintenance How recently the plugin was updated.	3/100	100/100 ✓
Rating quality Volume-adjusted review quality.	73/100	79/100 ✓
Support Share of forum threads marked resolved.	70/100 ✓	68/100
Rating (adjusted)	3.92★	4.15★ ✓
Reviews	4	641 ✓
Ranking optimization How well the listing is tuned to rank on wp.org.	39/100	90/100 ✓
Removal risk Maintenance signals that precede a wp.org closure. Not an official status.	High	Low ✓
Last updated	8.6y ago	today ✓
Downloads · 30d	91	2.6M ✓
Install conversion Active installs over lifetime downloads. Downloads include every update, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower.	3.2% ✓	0.9%
Category	Performance	Performance

✓ marks the stronger plugin on each row. Rows where they're level show no marker.

Release activity

Specify a Vary: Accept-Encoding HeaderSpeed Optimizer

7-day average daily downloads. Downloads spike for about a week after each release as the install base re-downloads, so read this as release cadence, not growth.