Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “exclude 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 “exclude cache”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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 #7 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 12 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

10Web Booster – Website speed optimization, Cache & Page Speed optimizer places #11 on merit, 4.6★ from 405 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. 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★ (4229) wp.org #2 3 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #3 4 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Docket Cache – Object Cache Accelerator 20K+ · 4.9★ (50) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Cache Enabler 100K+ · 4.3★ (139) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Breeze Cache 300K+ · 3.6★ (133) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Powered Cache – Caching and Optimization for WordPress – Easily Improve PageSpeed & Web Vitals Score 3K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #10 ↑3 2 too low 9 C Clear Cache for Me 40K+ · 4.8★ (29) wp.org #9 10 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #14 ↓3 4 too low 11 10Web Booster – Website speed optimization, Cache & Page Speed optimizer 60K+ · 4.6★ (405) wp.org #23 ↓1 12 too low 12 Hyper Cache 7K+ · 4.5★ (82) wp.org #16 4 too low 13 Comet Cache 20K+ · 4.4★ (108) wp.org #20 ↓1 7 too low 14 SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 500K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too high 15 Cache Warmer 1K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #15 16 xSpeed Cache: AI-Powered Performance Hub with MCP, Caching & CDN 10K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #21 ↑2 5 too low 17 Proxy Cache Purge 50K+ · 4.4★ (26) wp.org #17 18 CLP Varnish Cache 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #12 6 too high 19 Aruba HiSpeed Cache 100K+ · 3.0★ (10) wp.org #7 12 too high 20 The Cache Purger 1K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #13 ↑1 7 too high 21 C3 Cloudfront Cache Controller 3K+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Clear Autoptimize Cache Automatically 4K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 Disable CSS JS Cache 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↑1 4 too high 24 ABCode Cache Warmer 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.