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← Rankings

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

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 “cache delete”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 3 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

Aruba HiSpeed Cache shows at wp.org #7 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 100K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library places #10 on merit, 4.6★ from 779 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. 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 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #2 3 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Redis Object Cache 500K+ · 4.5★ (179) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5038) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Cache Enabler 100K+ · 4.3★ (139) wp.org #8 9 SQLite Object Cache 10K+ · 5.0★ (51) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (779) wp.org #19 ↓1 9 too low 11 Simple Revisions Delete 10K+ · 4.9★ (50) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 500K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 Hyper Cache 7K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 Delete Expired Transients 4K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 atec Cache APCu 3K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #17 2 too low 16 Proxy Cache Purge 50K+ · 4.4★ (26) wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too low 17 Aruba HiSpeed Cache 100K+ · 3.0★ (10) wp.org #7 10 too high 18 The Cache Purger 1K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 Clear All Cache for WP Super Cache 6K+ · 3.1★ (11) wp.org #23 4 too low 20 Pods Alternative Cache 5K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #22 2 too low 21 Cache Using Gzip 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 3 too low 22 A Automatic Cache Flusher for W3 Total Cache 4K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 8 too high 23 Ergonet Cache 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 8 too high 24 Clear Cache Everywhere 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 3 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.