9 Best WordPress Cache Plugins to Supercharge Your Website Speed

Website loading time and performance are critical to search engine rankings. The faster a website’s pages load for users, the higher it could rank. 

While web hosts play crucial roles in page speed and performance, especially time to first byte, having a powerful cache plugin can improve speed, solve Core Web Vital, and improve site user experience. 

In today’s post, I reviewed 9 of the best WordPress cache plugins, so you can pick the one that best fits your website needs. 

You’ll find a suitable plugin from premium-only to free cache and database optimization plugins in this post. 

But first, let’s define what we mean by WordPress cache Plugins.

What is WordPress Cache Plugin?

A WordPress cache plugin is a software extension or tool designed to improve the performance and speed of WordPress websites by implementing caching techniques. 

Caching involves storing the dynamically generated content of a website in a static form, allowing subsequent page requests to be served more quickly. 

When a visitor requests information from your site, instead of retrieving it from your server directly, the plugin serves the cached pages or version of the original page reducing server load and faster response times. 

WordPress cache plugins work by creating and managing cached copies of web pages, optimizing database queries, minifying and compressing files, and implementing other performance-enhancing techniques. 

By caching content, these plugins help to enhance the user experience, reduce server resource usage, improve website load times, and contribute to overall website optimization.

Best WordPress Cache Plugins

To get the best of these plugins, you must combine them with CDN services like Cloudflare, BonnyCDN, RocketCDN, SuperSonic CDN, etc. 

A CDN (Content Delivery Network) stores copies of your website files in multiple data centers across different geo-locations and cities. 

So, regardless of the distance between your site visitor location and your website origin server, the request will be handled by the CDN nearest server to the user. 

This significantly reduces content travel time from your website server to the user, improving onsite user experience and page speed. 

With that said and understood, let’s check the best free and paid WordPress cache plugins list.  

1. WP Rocket

WP Rocket is a premium plugin renowned for its simplicity and powerful caching capabilities. With a user-friendly interface and advanced features, WP Rocket optimizes website performance efficiently.

The plugin is powerful and works out of the box, optimizing your WordPress site upon activation. It has one-click activation to remove unused CSS and JavaScript codes, preload website pages, and lazy-load images and iframes. 

WP Rocket also replaces image dimension errors in PageSpeed testing tools and replaces the YouTube iframe with a preview image. 

The plugin has been used on over 3 million websites to improve loading time, Core web vitals, and website user experience. 

Check this page to learn more about WP Rocket features and performance guarantee. 

WP Rocket Top Features

• Optimized File – WP Rocket’s most powerful feature is file optimization. The plugin minifies and optimizes CSS and JS files, delay, and deferred JavaScript files. 
• Page Caching – WP Rocket generates static HTML files, eliminating the need for frequent dynamic processing and significantly improving loading times.
• Browser Caching and GZIP Compression – WP Rocket reduces server requests and optimizes file sizes for faster content delivery by enabling browser caching and GZIP compression.
• Lazy Loading – The plugin offers lazy loading functionality for images and videos, ensuring they load when visible on the user’s screen.
• Separate Mobile Cache – WP Rocket can enable separate mobile cache for mobile site users. Toggle the option if you require the feature. 
• Minification and Concatenation –  WP Rocket minifies and combines CSS and JavaScript files, reducing their sizes and enhancing page loading speed.
• Database Optimization – WP Rocket includes database optimization features to clean up unnecessary data and enhance overall performance.
• One-Click Cache Setup –  With WP Rocket’s one-click activation option, caching becomes hassle-free, even for beginners.

WP Rocket Pros and Cons

Pros

• Easy to use with one-click cache setup
• Excellent page caching capabilities
• Advanced features like lazy loading and database optimization
• Integration with Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)
• Effective minification and GZIP compression
• Provides options for browser caching
• Fix Google’s Core Web Vitals

Cons

• No free plan to test. 
• No image optimization features – requires Imagify, instead. 

2. W3 Total Cache 

W3 Total Cache is a comprehensive caching plugin trusted by many WordPress users. With an array of features to boost website performance, it provides advanced caching options and optimization techniques.

One of the best things about W3 Total Cache is that its core features are accessible to free users. 

But unlike WP Rocket, configuring the W3 Total cache plugin can be a nightmare for beginners and even intermediate WordPress users. 

Unlike WP Rocket, configuring the W3 Total cache plugin can be time-consuming and a task. Still, it is one of the best free cache plugins, especially for free users. 

W3 Total Cache Top Features

• Page Caching – W3 Total Cache generates static HTML files to serve users, minimizing server load and improving response time.
• Object Caching – The plugin enables caching of database queries and objects, leading to faster data retrieval and reduced database load.
• Database Caching – W3 Total Cache offers database caching, minimizing the number of database queries and optimizing database performance.
• File Minification – W3 Total Cache provides options for minifying CSS and JavaScript files, removes render-blocking resources, and improves the efficiency of website codes. 
• GZIP Compression – The plugin enables GZIP compression for reduced file sizes and enhanced loading speed.
• Content Delivery Network (CDN) Integration – W3 Total Cache seamlessly integrates with popular CDNs, allowing efficient global content delivery.
• Browser Caching – By enabling browser caching, W3 Total Cache stores static resources in visitors’ browsers, reducing server requests and improving subsequent page loads.

W3 Total Cache Pros and Cons

Pros

• Comprehensive caching features, including page, object, support for AMP pages, and database caching
• Minification and GZIP compression options
• Integration with Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)
• Effective browser caching capabilities
• Advanced caching techniques for improved performance

Cons

• Requires a steeper learning curve for beginners
• Some compatibility issues with certain themes and plugins
• Advanced configuration options may require technical knowledge

3. WP-Optimize

WP-Optimize is a powerful cache plugin that improves website speed and optimizes database performance by cleaning up unnecessary data and enhancing efficiency.

The plugin’s core function is database optimization and cleanup. You can schedule a regular WordPress database clean-up for tables, transients, spam comments, post revisions, auto drafts, trashed posts, etc. 

Though the plugin has cache and image optimization features, it works best when paired with a purposely built cache plugin like WP Rocket or NitroPack.

WP-Optimize also converts images to WebP for supported browsers. 

WP-Optimize Top Features

• Page Caching – WP-Optimize implements one-click page caching to deliver static HTML files faster and reduce file sizes.
• Database Optimization – The plugin offers extensive tools to optimize and clean up your WordPress database, removing spam comments, leftover tables, post revisions, and unnecessary data.
• Image Optimization – WP-Optimize optimizes images by compressing them without compromising quality, resulting in improved loading times.
• Lazy Loading – With lazy loading, WP-Optimize ensures that images load only when visible, reducing initial page load time.
• Minification and file Concatenation – The plugin minifies and combines CSS and JavaScript files to reduce size and enhance page performance.
• Cache Preloading – WP-Optimize has a cache preloading feature that generates cached files in advance, ensuring faster delivery to visitors.
• Convert WebP Images – WP-Optimize and convert compressed images to WebP image format for supported browsers.  

WP-Optimize Pros and Cons

Pros 

• Powerful database optimization features
• Integration with page caching for improved performance
• Image optimization capabilities
• Lazy loading functionality
• Minification and GZIP compression options
• Cache preloading for faster delivery

Cons

• Focuses primarily on database optimization rather than extensive caching
• Some features may overlap with other plugins causing conflict. 

4. Autoptimize

Autoptimize is a popular cache plugin that optimizes, aggregates and minifies your website’s CSS, JavaScript, and HTML files to enhance performance and reduce loading times.

Its primary function is file minification and optimization. And it works better than other similar plugins in the same category and functions. 

The plugin also supports image optimization, converting images to WebP and AVIF format, providing lazy-load features, removing WordPress core emoji, optimizing Google fonts, and async non-aggregated JavaScript.

The pro plugin offers more advanced features and tools like CDN integrations, automatically regenerating CSS files, adding rules, and more.  

Autoptimize can be paired with WP Rocket, but you must disable conflict or similar features.  

The plugin has many free features but the Pro version unlocks access to more advanced features.

Autoptimize Top Features

• Code Optimization – Autoptimize optimizes CSS, JavaScript, and HTML files by minifying and concatenating them, reducing their sizes, and improving page loading speed.
• Critical CSS Generation – The plugin generates necessary CSS containing the essential styles needed for initial page rendering, resulting in faster loading of above-the-fold content.
• Lazy Loading – Autoptimize offers lazy loading functionality for images and videos, improving initial page load times by deferring the loading of non-visible content.
• Asset Optimization – With asset optimization, Autoptimize allows you to exclude specific files from optimization, ensuring compatibility with other plugins and themes.
• Cache Exclusion –  The plugin enables the exclusion of specific pages or URLs from the cache, allowing dynamic content to be served when needed.
• Database Cleanup – Autoptimize provides options to clean up orphaned data from previous optimizations, ensuring a clutter-free database.

Autoptimize Pros and Cons

Pros

• Effective minification and optimization of CSS, JavaScript, and HTML files
• Critical CSS generation for faster rendering of the above-the-fold content
• Lazy loading functionality for images and videos
• Cache exclusion and database cleanup options
• Efficient code optimization techniques

Cons

• It may require additional plugins for comprehensive caching
• Some compatibility issues with specific themes and plugins
• Advanced configuration options may be overwhelming for beginners

5. NitroPack

NitroPack is an all-in-one performance optimization service that combines caching, minification, image optimization, and more to deliver lightning-fast websites.

One of the best WordPress caching plugins that just works. It performs all optimization tasks in the cloud, relieving your server of the load and improving performance. 

Nitropack is an excellent choice if you’re not on a budget and need a WordPress caching plugin that works straight out of the box and with little to no configuration steps. 

The plugin is best for improving page speed, solving core web vitals, improving website performance, and drastically reducing page size.

The free version is limited to 5,000 monthly pageviews and NitroPack branding at the footer of your website. To unlock all its core features and remove branding, you must upgrade to a paid plan starting at $17.50 monthly.  

NitroPack Top Features

• Automatic Page Caching – NitroPack automatically generates and serves cached versions of web pages, reducing server load and improving loading times.
• Cache Pre-warm up – NitroPack automatically preloads pages in the background for faster delivery to improve site user experience. 
• Dynamic Page Caching – The plugin caches dynamic content, ensuring faster delivery and reducing the need for repeated server processing.
• Device and Cookie Cache – NitroPack enables device and cookie cache, a helpful feature for e-commerce and data solution websites. 
• Image Optimization – NitroPack optimizes images by compressing and resizing them, resulting in improved loading speed without compromising quality.
• Minification and Concatenation – The plugin minifies and combines CSS and JavaScript files, reducing file sizes and enhancing overall performance.
• Lazy Loading – NitroPack offers lazy loading functionality for images and videos, optimizing initial page load times by deferring the loading of non-visible content.
• CDN Integration – NitroPack integrates seamlessly with Cloudflare CDN, allowing efficient content distribution across its over 275 global servers.

NitroPack Pros and Cons

Pros

• All-in-one performance optimization service
• Automatic page caching and dynamic page caching
• Image optimization capabilities
• Minification and concatenation of CSS and JavaScript files
• Lazy loading functionality
• Seamless integration with Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)

Cons

• Limited free plan with restricted features
• Some users have reported NitroPack breaking their site, as the plugin setting is sometimes too aggressive. 

6. 10Web Booster

10web Booster is a comprehensive caching and optimization plugin that aims to enhance website performance and deliver exceptional loading speeds.

The 10web Booster plugin features include cache, image optimization, iframes, JS and CSS optimization and delivery, deferred JS loading, regeneration of critical CSS files, resizing image dimensions to fit its container, etc.

10Web Booster only optimizes the homepage + 5 other pages in its free plan. To optimize all your website pages and unlock its full features, you must upgrade to the 10Web Booster Pro. 

10web Booster Top Features

• Page Caching – 10web generates static HTML files of your web pages, significantly reducing server load and improving loading times.
• Minification and GZIP Compression – The plugin offers options for minifying CSS, JavaScript, and HTML files and enabling GZIP compression for faster content delivery.
• Defer Javascript and CSS Execution – 10web prioritizes loading CSS files above the fold and defer JS files to render important content quickly on the user screen. 
• Image Optimization – 10web Booster optimized images by compressing and resizing them, ensuring faster loading without compromising visual quality.
• Lazy Loading – With lazy loading functionality, 10web defers loading images and videos until they become visible, improving initial page load times.
• Database Optimization – The plugin includes tools to optimize your WordPress database, eliminating unnecessary data and improving overall database performance.
• CDN Support – 10web Booster integrates with Content Delivery Networks (CDNs), allowing efficient content delivery across global servers.

10web Pros and Cons

Pros

• Effective page caching for improved performance
• Minification and GZIP compression options
• Image optimization capabilities
• Lazy loading functionality
• Database optimization features
• CDN support for efficient content delivery

Cons

• Less popular compared to other cache plugins
• Limited user reviews and community support
• Limited access in its free plan. 

7. Breeze – From Cloudways

Breez from Cloudways is a lightweight and user-friendly cache plugin designed to enhance website performance and provide seamless caching options.

Despite being developed by Cloudways for its hosting environment, the plugin works on all WordPress sites.

Enabling the cache function in Breez is one click. The plugin has file optimization features like CSS and JS minification. Deferred or minified Javascript files and codes.

Additionally, Breeze has other optimization features like Lazy Load for images and iframe, database optimization, link preload and DNS pre-connect, WordPress heartbeat control, Varnish, etc.

Breeze Top Features

• Page Caching – Breeze generates static HTML files, reducing server load and improving response times for subsequent page visits.
• Cloudflare Integration – The plugin integrates seamlessly with the Cloudflare CDN, bringing the power of the CDN into Cloudways-hosted sites. 
• GZIP Compression – The plugin enables GZIP compression, reducing file sizes and optimizing bandwidth usage for faster content delivery.
• Varnish Cache Integration –  Breeze integrates with Varnish Cache, a powerful caching technology that accelerates content delivery and enhances performance.
• Lazy Loading – Breeze offers lazy loading functionality for images, iframes, and videos, improving initial page load times by deferring the loading of non-visible content.
• Browser Cache – The plugin leverages browser caching, storing static resources in visitors’ browsers for faster subsequent page loads.
• Database Cleanup – It offers WordPress database cleanup for trash posts, comments, transient, post revisions, auto drafts, etc. 
• Auto Cache Clearing – Breeze automatically clears the cache when changes are made to the website, ensuring visitors always see the latest content.

Breeze From Cloudways Top Features

Pros

• Lightweight and user-friendly cache plugin
• Page caching for faster content delivery
• GZIP compression for reduced file sizes
• Varnish Cache integration for enhanced performance
• Lazy loading functionality
• Native compatibility with Cloudflare. 
• Auto cache clearing for seamless updates

Cons

• Limited customization options compared to other cache plugins
• It may require additional configuration for optimal performance
• Less advanced features compared to premium cache plugins

8. WP Super Cache 

WP Super Cache, developed by Automattic, is a widely-used free caching plugin known for its simplicity and efficiency in improving website speed.

The plugin generates static HTML versions of the pages of your website and serves them to users for subsequent visits. 

WP Super Cache is a free plugin you can access all its features with no restrictions. 

It provides three ways to cache and serve cached pages; Expery, Simple, and WP-Cache caching. These are ranked by level of cache and speed. 

If you’re not an advanced WordPress user, configuring WP Super Cache can be challenging. For more information about its setup process and documentation, check the plugin page on wordpress.org.  

WP Super Cache Top Features

• Static Page Caching – WP Super Cache generates static HTML files of your web pages, reducing the need for dynamic processing and improving loading times.
• Dynamic Caching – This feature serves cached files to users who are not logged in or have not left comments, significantly reducing server load.
• Content Delivery Network (CDN) Support – The plugin seamlessly integrates with CDNs, allowing you to deliver static content efficiently from global servers.
• Preloading – WP Super Cache has a preloading feature that generates cached files for your site’s pages in advance, ensuring faster delivery to visitors.
• GZIP Compression – By enabling GZIP compression, WP Super Cache reduces file sizes and optimizes bandwidth usage, resulting in faster loading times.
• Caching for Mobile Users – WP Super Cache offers specific caching options for mobile devices, improving the mobile browsing experience.
• Garbage Collection – WP Super cache deletes old cache storage to free up space, save bandwidth usage, and ensure the cache directory is not filled with stale cached website files. 

WP Super Cache Pros and Cons

Pros

• A simple and easy-to-use caching plugin
• Offers both static and dynamic caching options
• Efficient and effective page caching for improved performance
• Integration with Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)
• Preloading of cache files for faster content delivery
• Various advanced options for customization and configuration

Cons

• It may require additional configuration for optimal performance
• Compatibility issues with certain themes and plugins
• It can be overwhelming for beginners due to the advanced options
• Limited support and documentation compared to other cache plugins

9. Cache Enabler

Cache Enabler is a lightweight caching plugin that generates static HTML files for your WordPress site, enhancing its speed and performance. It stores the static HTML files on the server disk for faster delivery when a request is made. 

It is a beginner-friendly plugin that it’s easy to set up and configure. The plugin supports Brotli and GZIP compression formats. 

The cache is one of its core functions, the plugin also converts images to WebP with Optimus. And also the minification of HTML files, inline CSS and JavaScript files. 

Cache Enabler Top Features

• Static Page Caching – Cache Enabler generates static HTML files for your web pages, reducing the need for repeated database queries and server processing.
• Efficient File Caching – The plugin caches files at the disk level, minimizing server load and improving delivery times for subsequent page visits.
• WebP Support – Cache Enabler supports the WebP image format, allowing for optimized image delivery and improved loading speed.
• Minification – The plugin offers options for minifying HTML and JavaScript files, reducing file sizes, and improving overall page performance.
• Expiry Time and Cache Clearing – Cache Enabler controls cache expiry time and allows manual clearing of the cache when necessary.
• User-Friendly Interface – With its simple and intuitive interface, Cache Enabler offers ease of use and quick setup for WordPress users.

Cache Enabler Pros and Cons

Pros

• A lightweight and efficient caching plugin
• Easy installation and setup process.
• Provides static file caching for faster page loads
• Efficient handling of cache expiration and clearing
• Integration with WebP image format for improved performance
• Works well with WordPress multisite installations

Cons

• Limited advanced features compared to other cache plugins
• Lack of additional optimization options (e.g., minification)
• It may require additional plugins for comprehensive caching
• Compatibility issues with certain themes and plugins
• Limited support and documentation compared to other cache plugins

Conclusion

By harnessing the power of the best WordPress caching plugins, you can optimize your WordPress website’s performance, improve loading times, and enhance the overall user experience. 

Each plugin brings unique features and optimizations, allowing you to select the one that best suits your needs and preferences. 

Remember, investing in the right caching plugin can significantly impact your website’s speed, SEO rankings, and user satisfaction, so choose wisely and enjoy the benefits of a blazing-fast website.

WP Rocket is the best cache plugin if you want to get serious about improving page speed, performance, and core web vitals. Though the plugin isn’t free, it gives the best value for money and instantly improves your website loading time.