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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “menu 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 “menu cache”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 3 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 #8 but places #20 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

WP Menu Icons places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 139 reviews, but shows at wp.org #16. 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★ (4228) wp.org #2 3 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #3 4 Redis Object Cache 500K+ · 4.5★ (179) wp.org #4 5 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Docket Cache – Object Cache Accelerator 20K+ · 4.9★ (50) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #9 ↑1 2 too low 8 WP Mobile Menu – The Mobile-Friendly Responsive Menu 70K+ · 4.7★ (256) wp.org #12 ↓3 4 too low 9 Breeze Cache 300K+ · 3.6★ (133) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 SQLite Object Cache 10K+ · 5.0★ (51) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 WP Menu Icons 20K+ · 4.9★ (139) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too low 12 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too low 13 Powered Cache – Caching and Optimization for WordPress – Easily Improve PageSpeed & Web Vitals Score 3K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #14 1 too low 14 WP REST Cache 10K+ · 4.9★ (42) wp.org #10 ↑3 4 too high 15 C Clear Cache for Me 40K+ · 4.8★ (29) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too high 16 Float menu – awesome floating side menu 30K+ · 4.4★ (41) wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too high 17 Iks Menu – WordPress Category Accordion Menu & FAQs 10K+ · 5.0★ (27) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too low 18 atec Cache APCu 3K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 atec Cache Info 1K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too low 20 Aruba HiSpeed Cache 100K+ · 3.0★ (10) wp.org #8 12 too high 21 WPGraphQL Smart Cache 5K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too high 22 Clear All Cache for WP Super Cache 6K+ · 3.1★ (11) wp.org #24 ↓4 2 too low 23 The Cache Purger 1K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too high 24 Ergonet Cache 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑2 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.