Surge
by Konstantin Kovshenin · Performance
Also makes 9 other plugins · 18.6K+ installs across the portfolio →
Surge is a very simple and fast page caching plugin for WordPress.
89 health vs 67 average across 1,075 Performance plugins
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Excellent listing optimization
Well tuned across the board
Daily downloads
Since 2022-10-05 · 1,425 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peaks are release surges
1.0K
now · peak 4.0K
Directory rank vs rivals
wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
Release cadence
Occasionally updatedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
3
releases in the last 12 months
4mo ago
latest release · v1.2.1
8
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 72% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “4K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Refined from the date this plugin crossed into its current band.
Install history · since 2022-06-26 · 1,423 observations
Estimated value
What this plugin might earn a year, and what it might sell for. Modeled from public signals; we don't see anyone's books.
Est. annual revenue
Est. acquisition value
No paid tier is visible, so we don't put a figure on revenue or sale value: that would be guessing. The install base is a real asset to an acquirer, just not one public data lets us price. A small install base leaves thin data to model from.
Details
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ adamshand8mo ago
Love this plugin. Works great and couldn’t be simpler.Thank you!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Marko Dimitrijević1.2y ago
Absolutely blown away by Surge! This plugin is a game-changer for WordPress performance. I saw an instant boost from 74 to 78 on PageSpeed Insights compared to another caching plugin, simply by activating it. The claim of generating static HTML for quicker requests, faster load times, and a shorter TTFB is spot on. What truly sets it apart is the zero-configuration – it just works out of the box, making it incredibly user friendly. The load test results mentioned are impressive, and it’s clear this plugin delivers on its promises. Huge thanks to Konstantin Kovshenin for this fantastic, no-nonsense performance solution!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ skeeterseatery2.5y ago
I wanted to extend my deepest appreciation for your invaluable contribution. Your Surge Cache plugin has revolutionized the performance of my website. Amidst the challenges of compatibility issues between FlyingPress and WP Rocket with Sucuri WAF, your plugin emerged as the beacon of hope. Previously, grappling with other caching plugins led to severe CPU spikes, pushing my site to the brink of breakdowns. While perfmatters provided some relief, I still needed a lightweight page cache plugin to navigate peak traffic periods seamlessly. Enter your Surge Cache plugin. Its seamless integration with my site has not only bolstered its speed but also its overall performance. I am now confident that my website remains steadfast and responsive even during the busiest of times. Thank you, from the depths of my heart, for crafting such an exceptional tool. Your unwavering dedication to enhancing website functionality is truly commendable. With warm regards, Greg
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ silzsyk2.9y ago
Hello, for this plugin to work must the fpassthru function be activated or not? There is a difference? This topic was modified 2 years, 10 months ago by silzsyk.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Anonymous3.1y ago
Over the years, I’ve looked at all the top caching plugins, and never found one that I liked. They were either too complex, too finicky, or tried to do too many things. Surge just works, and it works great. Update: I ran some basic performance testing of the same sample content with and without Surge activated.Surge increased my Requests per second by a factor of 21x and reduced my time per request by a factor of 25x. Beyond that, Konstantin has been amazing as far as support goes for a free plugin. Besides addressing issues and requests, he’s gone above-and-beyond at helping work through issues, to the point of looking at where we are using Surge and making additional configuration recommendations. If it were possible to give 6 stars, I would! This topic was modified 2 years, 9 months ago by Jason LeMahieu (MadtownLems). This topic was modified 2 years, 5 months ago by Jason LeMahieu (MadtownLems).
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Timi Wahalahti3.6y ago
This plugin works! Install, activate, and check WP_CACHE value and boom – your site is fast!One nice feature that is happening under the hood is caching of specific REST API requests. That makes, for example, dynamic parts of the site with javascript filtering blazingly fast.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ James3.9y ago
I almost gave up on finding a WP cache plugin that ONLY did that… cache! Everything is bloated with minify, CDN, image optimize, and a bunch of features I just don’t need because we have those taken care of otherwise.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ SickNick4.4y ago
I’m using it for 1 month on different sites with different themes and plugins, and some big ones over 150-200GB. Works just perfect!
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 1.2.1 Bug fix in SURGE_ config constants Add support for SURGE_CONFIG_CALLBACK 1.2.1
- — Version 1.2.0 Added fpassthru_alt configuration option for compatibility with hosts that do not support fpassthru Added the cache status to the event system Added a CLI status command Added support for SURGE_ configuration constants U 1.2.0
- — Version 1.1.0 Improved Multisite compatibility Fixed occasional stat() warnings in cleanup routines Fixed expiration by path being too broad Added a filter for flush actions Feature: added a simple events system for s-maxage and stale 1.1.0
- — Version 1.0.5 Fix woocommerce_product_title compatibility Honor DONOTCACHEPAGE constant Use built-in is_ssl() WordPress function for better compatibility 1.0.5
- — Version 1.0.4 Add a WP-CLI command to invalidate/flush page cache Fix redirect loop with Core’s redirect_canonical for ignore_query_vars Fix warnings for requests with empty headers Fix warnings when cron cleanup attempts to read a fi 1.0.4
- — Version 1.0.3 Invalidate cache when posts_per_page is changed Fix redirect loop with unknown query vars caused by Core’s redirect_canonical Ignore X-Cache and X-Powered-By headers from cache metadata Allow multiple headers with the sa 1.0.3
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0.1
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 10 languages, 7 at 90% or more
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2025-10-24 3K+ → 4K+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2025-10-22 4K+ → 3K+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2025-10-21 3K+ → 4K+ up after 671 days in tier
- 2023-12-20 2K+ → 3K+ up
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
-
WP Super Cache 1M+ installs · 4.3★ · 3 shared tags A -
Breeze Cache 300K+ installs · 3.6★ · 3 shared tags B -
Cache Enabler 100K+ installs · 4.3★ · 3 shared tags B
-
Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN 70K+ installs · 4.7★ · 3 shared tags A -
SpinupWP 30K+ installs · 4.5★ · 3 shared tags A
-
Cachify 9K+ installs · 4.5★ · 3 shared tags B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Surge into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/surge" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Surge — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Surge: 4K+ active installs, 4.9★ (31 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-08-29. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/surge