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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “asset cache”

wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →

For “asset cache”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 2 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.

wp.org search ranks on

Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.

We add

A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Clear Cache Everywhere shows at wp.org #15 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 1488 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #1 2 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too low 7 Asset CleanUp: Page Speed Booster 100K+ · 4.9★ (1564) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8 Breeze Cache 300K+ · 3.6★ (133) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #11 2 too low 10 Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN 70K+ · 4.7★ (1488) wp.org #22 12 too low 11 Powered Cache – Caching and Optimization for WordPress – Easily Improve PageSpeed & Web Vitals Score 3K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #10 ↑2 1 too high 12 C Clear Cache for Me 40K+ · 4.8★ (29) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 10Web Booster – Website speed optimization, Cache & Page Speed optimizer 60K+ · 4.6★ (405) wp.org #21 8 too low 14 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #17 3 too low 15 Cache Warmer 1K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 xSpeed Cache: AI-Powered Performance Hub with MCP, Caching & CDN 10K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #18 ↑2 2 too low 17 SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 500K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #12 ↓2 5 too high 18 Assets manager, dequeue scripts, dequeue styles for WordPress 2K+ · 4.3★ (53) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 Easy Optimizer – PageSpeed, Cache & Core Web Vitals (Unused CSS, Delay JS, Lazy Load) 1K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 WPGraphQL Smart Cache 5K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 Pods Alternative Cache 5K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #16 5 too high 22 C3 Cloudfront Cache Controller 3K+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too high 23 Disable CSS JS Cache 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too high 24 Clear Cache Everywhere 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 9 too high

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.