Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “disk caching”

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 “disk caching”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 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

Disk Usage Details shows at wp.org #5 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 70+ 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

Clearfy Cache – WordPress optimization plugin, Minify HTML, CSS & JS, Defer places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 339 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #1 2 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #2 3 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Disk Usage Sunburst 9K+ · 4.8★ (36) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too low 7 Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection 5M+ · 4.7★ (1187) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too low 8 Docket Cache – Object Cache Accelerator 20K+ · 4.9★ (50) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too high 9 Cache Enabler 100K+ · 4.3★ (139) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too high 10 ShortPixel Image Optimizer – Optimize Images, Convert WebP & AVIF 300K+ · 4.5★ (830) wp.org #16 6 too low 11 Clearfy Cache – WordPress optimization plugin, Minify HTML, CSS & JS, Defer 40K+ · 4.7★ (339) wp.org #21 10 too low 12 DietPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too low 13 FastPixel Cache – Optimize Page Speed: Compress Images, Minify, Clean Database & CDN 4K+ · 4.8★ (50) wp.org #17 ↑2 4 too low 14 Easy Optimizer – PageSpeed, Cache & Core Web Vitals (Unused CSS, Delay JS, Lazy Load) 1K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #14 15 Surge 4K+ · 4.9★ (31) wp.org #15 16 Object Cache 4 everyone 5K+ · 4.2★ (30) wp.org #11 ↓1 5 too high 17 NinjaScanner – Virus & Malware scan 40K+ · 4.0★ (36) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too low 18 reGenerate Thumbnails Advanced 60K+ · 3.2★ (59) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 Proxy Cache Purge 50K+ · 4.4★ (26) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too high 20 Code Profiler – WordPress Performance Profiling and Debugging Made Easy 8K+ · 4.3★ (36) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 Disk Usage Details 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 ↑6 16 too high 22 FlyWP Helper – Page Cache, Page Optimization, Emails for FlyWP Server Control Panel 4K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 TNC Toolbox: Web Performance 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 RunCache – Full-Page, Object, and Edge Caching 4K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↑1 12 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.