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← Rankings

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

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 search”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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 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 #9 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 11 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

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 27820 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4229) wp.org #1 2 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) 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 #7 2 too low 6 Docket Cache – Object Cache Accelerator 20K+ · 4.9★ (50) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Ajax Search Lite – Live Search & Filter 70K+ · 4.8★ (266) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 Search Regex 100K+ · 4.7★ (101) wp.org #8 9 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820) wp.org #18 9 too low 10 Breeze Cache 300K+ · 3.6★ (133) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 Advanced Woo Search – Product Search for WooCommerce 60K+ · 4.8★ (248) wp.org #13 ↓2 2 too low 12 WP REST Cache 10K+ · 4.9★ (42) wp.org #11 ↑2 1 too high 13 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #22 ↓1 9 too low 14 Powered Cache – Caching and Optimization for WordPress – Easily Improve PageSpeed & Web Vitals Score 3K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 Search Analytics for WP – Site Search Tracking 3K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #20 4 too low 17 Better Search – Relevant search results for WordPress 5K+ · 4.4★ (61) wp.org #17 ↓1 18 Highlight Search Terms 6K+ · 5.0★ (40) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 500K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #16 ↓1 3 too high 20 Aruba HiSpeed Cache 100K+ · 3.0★ (10) wp.org #9 11 too high 21 The Cache Purger 1K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #15 ↑2 6 too high 22 Pods Alternative Cache 5K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too high 23 Clear Autoptimize Cache Automatically 4K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #24 ↓2 1 too low 24 Clear Cache Everywhere 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 1 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.