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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “fastcgi 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 “fastcgi cache”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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 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

FastCGI Cache for Ploi shows at wp.org #8 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 30+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents places #7 on merit, 5.0★ from 195 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Nginx Cache 8K+ · 4.6★ (24) wp.org #1 2 10Web Booster – Website speed optimization, Cache & Page Speed optimizer 60K+ · 4.6★ (405) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN 70K+ · 4.7★ (1488) wp.org #12 9 too low 4 Nginx Helper 200K+ · 4.4★ (31) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 NitroPack – Performance, Page Speed & Cache Plugin for Core Web Vitals, CDN & Image Optimization 90K+ · 4.3★ (311) wp.org #13 8 too low 6 The Cache Purger 1K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #2 4 too high 7 WPVibe – MCP Server for WordPress, works with Claude, ChatGPT & other AI MCP agents 100K+ · 5.0★ (195) wp.org #22 ↓1 15 too low 8 SpinupWP 30K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 Nginx Cache Purge Preload 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #4 5 too high 10 HTTP Headers 40K+ · 4.3★ (70) wp.org #19 ↑1 9 too low 11 Easy Optimizer – PageSpeed, Cache & Core Web Vitals (Unused CSS, Delay JS, Lazy Load) 1K+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #14 ↑1 3 too low 12 Cleavr Clear Cache 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 7 too high 13 FlyWP Helper – Page Cache, Page Optimization, Emails for FlyWP Server Control Panel 4K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 ABCode Cache Warmer 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 7 too high 15 Warmer – Cache Warmer and Cache Preload Crawler 70+ · 4.3★ (8) wp.org #15 ↓1 16 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #20 ↓2 4 too low 17 FastCGI Cache for Ploi 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 9 too high 18 Cache control by Cacholong 500+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 RunCache – Full-Page, Object, and Edge Caching 4K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 Jabali Cache 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too high 21 OPcache Reset 500+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #16 5 too high 22 Naibabiji Cache Purger for EdgeOne 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too high 23 LNDLE Speed – Page Cache, WebP, Lazy Load & Performance 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 24 FlynCache Purge — · 5.0★ (1) 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.