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← Rankings

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

Ergonet Cache shows at wp.org #11 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 3K+ 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

10Web Booster – Website speed optimization, Cache & Page Speed optimizer places #12 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★ (4228) wp.org #2 3 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #3 4 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #8 ↑1 4 too low 5 Nginx Cache 8K+ · 4.6★ (24) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Docket Cache – Object Cache Accelerator 20K+ · 4.9★ (50) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 Nginx Helper 200K+ · 4.4★ (31) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Cache Enabler 100K+ · 4.3★ (139) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 Hestia Nginx Cache 1K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #5 4 too high 10 Powered Cache – Caching and Optimization for WordPress – Easily Improve PageSpeed & Web Vitals Score 3K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #12 ↑2 2 too low 11 Seraphinite Accelerator 50K+ · 4.8★ (476) wp.org #19 ↓1 8 too low 12 10Web Booster – Website speed optimization, Cache & Page Speed optimizer 60K+ · 4.6★ (405) wp.org #23 ↓1 11 too low 13 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #16 ↓1 3 too low 14 xSpeed Cache: AI-Powered Performance Hub with MCP, Caching & CDN 10K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #20 ↑3 6 too low 15 Proxy Cache Purge 50K+ · 4.4★ (26) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too high 16 Nginx Cache Purge Preload 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #9 ↓1 7 too high 17 The Cache Purger 1K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #15 ↓2 2 too high 18 Cache Using Gzip 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 ↓1 19 W WPBase Cache 3K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 ABCode Cache Warmer 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too low 21 Cleavr Clear Cache 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓3 1 too low 22 Ergonet Cache 3K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 11 too high 23 Clear Cache Everywhere 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↓1 6 too high 24 Pantheon Advanced Page Cache 10K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 ↓3

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.