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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “image 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 “image cache”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Aruba HiSpeed Cache shows at wp.org #9 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 14 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

Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 6053 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. 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 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #2 ↑4 3 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #3 4 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #4 ↓2 5 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too low 6 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too high 7 EWWW Image Optimizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1842) wp.org #7 8 ShortPixel Image Optimizer – Optimize Images, Convert WebP & AVIF 300K+ · 4.5★ (830) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too low 9 Smush – Image Optimization, Compression, Lazy Load, WebP & CDN 1M+ · 4.8★ (6053) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 Cache Enabler 100K+ · 4.3★ (139) wp.org #10 ↓1 11 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too low 12 Image Watermark 40K+ · 4.2★ (298) wp.org #12 ↑1 13 Featured Image from URL (FIFU) 60K+ · 4.6★ (264) wp.org #15 ↓5 2 too low 14 Breeze Cache 300K+ · 3.6★ (133) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 Imagify Image Optimization: Optimize Images | Compress & Convert to WebP/AVIF 900K+ · 4.3★ (1656) wp.org #18 ↓3 3 too low 16 Powered Cache – Caching and Optimization for WordPress – Easily Improve PageSpeed & Web Vitals Score 3K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #13 ↑6 3 too high 17 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #22 ↑1 5 too low 18 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too low 19 Default Featured Image 50K+ · 4.8★ (69) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too low 20 ThumbPress – Compress Images, Manage Thumbnails, Detect Image Issues, WebP/AVIF, Lazy Loading, Hotlinking & More 20K+ · 3.7★ (117) wp.org #23 ↓3 3 too low 21 SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 500K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 Cache Warmer 1K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 Aruba HiSpeed Cache 100K+ · 3.0★ (10) wp.org #9 ↑2 14 too high 24 WPGraphQL Smart Cache 5K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #19 ↓1 5 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.