wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “cdn performance”

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 “cdn performance”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 4 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

SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance shows at wp.org #9 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 500K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.4★ average from 30 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 4228 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053) wp.org #1 2

Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN 70K+ · 4.7★ (1488) wp.org #2 3

LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #3 1 too high 5

W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #5 6

Jetpack Boost – Website Speed, Performance and Critical CSS 200K+ · 4.7★ (612) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #6 ↑2 1 too high 8

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too low 9

Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #14 5 too low 10

NitroPack – Performance, Page Speed & Cache Plugin for Core Web Vitals, CDN & Image Optimization 90K+ · 4.3★ (311) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too low 11

Autoptimize 800K+ · 4.7★ (1428) wp.org #15 ↑3 4 too low 12

Optimole – Optimize Images | Convert WebP & AVIF | CDN & Lazy Load | Image Optimization 200K+ · 4.7★ (640) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too low 13

CDN Enabler 10K+ · 4.1★ (51) wp.org #8 ↓1 5 too high 14

xSpeed Cache: AI-Powered Performance Hub with MCP, Caching & CDN 10K+ · 5.0★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #11 ↑2 3 too high 15

Swift Performance Lite 6K+ · 3.6★ (125) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #10 5 too high 16

SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 500K+ · 4.4★ (30) host-installed base wp.org #9 7 too high 17

WP Compress – Instant Performance & Speed Optimization 9K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #23 ↑1 6 too low 18

Image Optimizer, Resizer and CDN – Sirv 900+ · 4.9★ (265) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #22 ↓1 4 too low 19

Breeze Cache 300K+ · 3.6★ (133) wp.org #16 ↓2 3 too high 20

Shift8 CDN 500+ · 4.4★ (40) wp.org #18 2 too high 21

FastPixel Cache – Optimize Page Speed: Compress Images, Minify, Clean Database & CDN 4K+ · 4.8★ (50) not PHP-current wp.org #24 3 too low 22

WP Performance 200+ · 4.9★ (28) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #19 3 too high 23

bunny.net – WordPress CDN Plugin 10K+ · 3.1★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #20 3 too high 24

GoCache 800+ · 5.0★ (1) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews 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.