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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “object 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 “object cache”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 4 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 #19 on merit, a gap of 11 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

Powered Cache – Caching and Optimization for WordPress – Easily Improve PageSpeed & Web Vitals Score places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 58 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. 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 Redis Object Cache 500K+ · 4.5★ (179) wp.org #2 3 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #4 ↑3 1 too low 4 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 Docket Cache – Object Cache Accelerator 20K+ · 4.9★ (50) wp.org #3 ↑2 2 too high 6 SQLite Object Cache 10K+ · 5.0★ (51) wp.org #6 ↓3 7 Cache Enabler 100K+ · 4.3★ (139) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 Powered Cache – Caching and Optimization for WordPress – Easily Improve PageSpeed & Web Vitals Score 3K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #13 ↑4 5 too low 9 Object Cache 4 everyone 5K+ · 4.2★ (30) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too high 10 atec Cache APCu 3K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too low 11 SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 500K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too high 12 Cache Warmer 1K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #14 2 too low 13 atec Cache Info 1K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too high 14 xSpeed Cache: AI-Powered Performance Hub with MCP, Caching & CDN 10K+ · 5.0★ (22) wp.org #17 ↑3 3 too low 15 WP REST Cache 10K+ · 4.9★ (42) wp.org #16 ↑2 1 too low 16 Proxy Cache Purge 50K+ · 4.4★ (26) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 APCu Manager 10K+ · 4.6★ (20) wp.org #24 ↓1 7 too low 18 WPGraphQL Smart Cache 5K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 ↓2 3 too high 19 Aruba HiSpeed Cache 100K+ · 3.0★ (10) wp.org #8 ↑1 11 too high 20 The Cache Purger 1K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #18 ↓3 2 too high 21 Pods Alternative Cache 5K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #23 ↓1 2 too low 22 Clear Cache Everywhere 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓3 3 too high 23 A Automatic Cache Flusher for W3 Total Cache 4K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24 Yac Object Cache 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 2 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.