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← Rankings

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

A

Ranked above its merit

Automatic Cache Flusher for W3 Total Cache shows at wp.org #11 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 4K+ 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 #21. 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 ↑1 3 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Redis Object Cache 500K+ · 4.5★ (179) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 Docket Cache – Object Cache Accelerator 20K+ · 4.9★ (50) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Cache Enabler 100K+ · 4.3★ (139) wp.org #9 10 Powered Cache – Caching and Optimization for WordPress – Easily Improve PageSpeed & Web Vitals Score 3K+ · 4.8★ (58) wp.org #10 11 Autoptimize 800K+ · 4.7★ (1428) wp.org #18 ↑2 7 too low 12 10Web Booster – Website speed optimization, Cache & Page Speed optimizer 60K+ · 4.6★ (405) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 Speed Optimizer – The All-In-One Performance-Boosting Plugin 1M+ · 4.2★ (641) wp.org #19 ↓1 6 too low 14 Woody Code Snippets – Insert PHP, CSS, JS, and Header/Footer Scripts 50K+ · 4.5★ (221) wp.org #20 ↓1 6 too low 15 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 Transliterator – Multilingual and Multi-script Text Conversion 3K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #23 7 too low 17 atec Cache APCu 3K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 Cache Warmer 1K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 500K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #12 7 too high 20 atec Cache Info 1K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #13 7 too high 21 Tracking Script Manager 2K+ · 4.1★ (7) wp.org #15 6 too high 22 Cache Using Gzip 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 23 A Automatic Cache Flusher for W3 Total Cache 4K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 12 too high 24 Clear Cache Everywhere 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 7 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.