3 May 2024
8 Best WP Rocket Alternatives in 2024 [Free & Paid]
If you are looking for the best WP Rocket alternatives, then you come to the right place.
WP Rocket is a favorite among WordPress users for its powerful caching and performance optimization features.
However, there are several alternatives out there that can offer similar or even better enhancements.
In this article, we explore the best WP Rocket alternatives that offer both free and paid plans to suit various budgets and needs.
Let’s dive in!
What to Choose If You’re In A Rush
NitroPack is our recommended alternative to WP Rocket because of its ease of use and ability to increase load times significantly.
However, its plans are more expensive than WP Rocket’s, but we feel it is well worth the money given the features available.
It’s essentially a ‘click and forget’ solution for website performance. This means you get a speedy website without getting bogged down in technical jargon.
What Is WP Rocket?
WP Rocket is a caching and speed optimization plugin for WordPress websites. When activated, it automatically enables 80% of web performance best practices like page caching and minifying CSS and JS files. It also offers some other features, including:
- GZIP compression
- CDN integration
- eCommerce integration
- Database optimization
- Media optimization
- WebP format for images
And so on. For more, check out our complete WP Rocket review.
8 Best Alternatives To WP Rocket
Let’s look at the best cache plugin alternative to WP Rocket.
1. NitroPack
NitroPack is the best overall alternative to WP Rocket. It’s a freemium plugin. However, the free version is suitable for most personal blogs.
The free plan offers basic features and tools for optimizing website speed. The premium plan offers additional speed and performance features and tools.
However, the NitroPack premium is costly. It costs more than WP Rocket’s entry-level plan. But it is worth the money you will spend on it.
It includes all of the features you’d expect from a premium WordPress caching plugin. These include caching, file minification, and some media optimization.
However, its advanced image optimization toolset and content delivery network put it well ahead of the competition.
Despite all of this, Nitropack is not the best WordPress Rocket alternative for everyone. It costs much more than WP Rocket.
Here is how much NitroPack costs to you:
So, this is only a decent option if you can afford it. If you want to learn more, check out our Nitropack vs WP Rocket comparison.
Top Features:
- Advanced caching mechanism
- Image optimization and lazy loading feature
- Built-in global CDN
- HTML, CSS, and JS minification & compression
- Critical CSS, DNS prefetching, and preloading
- GZIP and Brotli compression
- Safe Mode for testing
- Supports for WebP images
Pricing:
NitroPack gives you a limited free plan that allows you to use up to 5,000 page views or 1GB of CDN bandwidth per month.
Paid plans start at $17.50/mo (billed annually) and come with a 14-day money-back guarantee.
2. WP-Optimize
WP-Optimize is a free alternative to WordPress Rocket. It does most of what WP Rocket does, as well as a little extra.
WP-Optimize started as a basic cache plugin, but it has grown a long way since then.
It offers most of WP Rocket’s advanced file-optimizing tools. Post-preloading, inline and merge JavaScript and CSS files, Google font optimization, and so on.
Not to mention, it’s an excellent WP Rocket competitor if you need image compression.
WP-Optimize is a solid image optimization plugin that can compress your media library in bulk.
It also automatically compresses new images as they are uploaded:
Furthermore, it is well-known for its database-cleaning abilities. It offers the most options for cleaning up your WordPress database.
If you’re looking for a WP Rocket replacement that can help with your images and posts, WP-Optimize is the best option.
Learn more in our WP-Optimize vs WP Rocket Comparison.
Top Features:
- One-click page caching
- Compress images (lossy or lossless)
- Advanced minification feature
- Font optimization
- Gzip compressions
- Clean and optimize the database
- Automatic scheduling optimization (premium feature)
- Lazy Loading (premium feature)
Pricing:
You can download the free version from WordPress.org. The premium plan starts at $49/year for two site licenses.
3. FlyingPress
FlyingPress is a lightweight and user-friendly WordPress performance plugin. It offers everything you’ll need to pass the Core Web Vitals metrics.
All you have to do is install and activate it on WP, then follow the step-by-step user interface to set up a few initial settings, and you’re up and running.
FlyingPess will then automatically apply a number of website performance enhancements for you.
It will automatically build static HTML pages, minify your code, eliminate unused CSS, optimize Google Fonts, and so on.
In addition, when combined with the FlyingCDN service, it provides real-time image optimization via its global network of 70+ PoPs.
Overall, FlyingPress is an excellent choice if you want a robust suite with every performance optimization tool you could possibly need.
However, it is a bit more expensive than WP Rocket upfront:
Top Features:
- Page caching
- Cache preloading
- Preload links
- Minify CSS & JS
- Optimize Google fonts
- Reduce layout shifts
- Delay script execution
- Optimize database
Pricing:
FlyingPress plans start from $60/year ($42 on renewal) for a single site. You can purchase the FlyingCDN add-on separately for $5 per 100 GB/site/month.
4. W3 Total Cache
W3 Total Cache promises to improve overall site speed tenfold, reduce page load times, and save up to 80% on bandwidth use.
It does this by implementing a number of best practices on your WordPress site, such as caching, minification, CDN integration, and so on.
What sets it apart from other plugins is its developer-friendliness. It provides great control and flexibility when it comes to setup. However, it is less user-friendly.
It takes longer to set up, and you must know what you’re doing to set it up correctly. Otherwise, your site may be broken. It is also very difficult to uninstall.
This is why we only suggest it for advanced users.
Top Features:
- Defer non-critical CSS and Javascript
- Minification of posts, pages, and RSS feeds
- SSL/TLS support
- JavaScript, MySQL, and HTML code minification
- CDN integrations to optimize images
- Reverse proxy integration via Nginx or Varnish
- WP-CLI support
- Code minification with granular control
Pricing:
A free version of W3 Total Cache is available on WordPress.org. The Pro license starts at $99/year for a single site license.
5. WP Fastest Cache
Unlike WP Rocket, WP Fastest Cache offers both a free and paid version.
It offers features similar to WP Rocket, such as caching, HTML minify, and combining JS files to reduce HTTPS requests, browser caching, etc.
For beginners, configuring the WP Fastest cache is straightforward. Most of the options need a checkbox tick, and you’re done.
Here’s the WP Fastest cache setting page:
Furthermore, it also works with major CDN service providers, including Cloudflare.
But of course, there are some downsides as well.
To use features like optimized images, Google font optimization, inline and minify of resources, etc, you need a premium version of WP Fastest Cache. However, these premium features are available for free in many caching plugins.
As a result, WP Fastest Cache is a good option, but if you want more features in a free option, there are better alternatives to WP Rocket.
Top Features:
- Mod_Rewrite cache method
- Preload cache
- Automatically and manually delete cached files
- Shortcode to block cache for specific pages
- Cache timeout for specific pages
- CDN support
- WP-CLI cache clearing
- Leverage browser caching
Pricing:
A free version of WP Fastest Cache is available on WordPress.org. The Pro version starts at $49/lifetime for a single site license.
6. LiteSpeed Cache
LiteSpeed Cache has much lighter features than the other alternatives on this list.
However, you get a lot of advanced options for caching.
You can even enable different types of caching individually. For example, here are the settings for object caching:
Aside from caching, LiteSpeed Cache’s functionality is unremarkable.
That is until you activate QUIC.cloud.
It is not easy or fast for the average user.
However, with QUIC.cloud activated, you can access one of the most extensive web performance toolkits available. It offers file and image optimization, a CDN, database cleaning, and much more.
It also offers a free version!
So, if you’re ready to spend the time setting things up, LiteSpeed Cache might be a good alternative to WP Rocket.
But it’s not for everyone.
Top Features:
- Minify CSS, JavaScript, and HTML
- Lazy-load images/iframes
- Multiple CDN support
- Defer/delay JS loading
- Browser cache support
- WebP image format support
- DNS Prefetch
- Automatically generate Critical CSS
Pricing:
LiteSpeed Cache is free to use. However, you need a LiteSpeed server to unlock cache features.
7. Cache Enabler
Cache Enabler is a simple yet powerful free WordPress caching plugin.
It does what it says: It enables caching on your website, allowing returning users to view it more quickly.
What makes it so good is that you don’t have to spend any time setting it. It works right out of the box, so all you need to do is install and activate it. Nothing else is required.
But of course, there are some downsides as well.
The Cache Enabler plugin does not provide any tools to help you address the most typical PageSpeeds issues, such as render-blocking resources or unoptimized JavaScript.
It only focuses on caching.
So don’t expect to see a significant increase in your Google Pagespeed score after installing Cache Enabler. If that’s what you’re searching for, this isn’t the WP Rocket alternative.
Top Features:
- Automatic smart cache clearing
- WP-CLI cache clearing
- Cache expiry
- Brotli and Gzip pre-compression support
- WebP support
- Minification of HTML
Pricing:
The Cache Enabler plugin is completely free to use.
8. Autoptimize
Autoptimize is not a WordPress performance optimization plugin. However, it does one thing well — file optimization.
For example, you can combine inline CSS, HTML, and JavaScript files, which can dramatically improve your chances of passing Google Core Web Vitals.
Furthermore, it works great when combined with other cache plugins like WP Rocket. Plus, it’s a good alternative to cache plugins if you are on a web host that restricts many popular cache plugins.
If you’re going to use the WP Rocket WordPress plugin together with Autoptimize, WP Rocket automatically detects and disables similar features in its plugin.
So you don’t have to worry about compatibility issues. Both plugins work together nicely.
To use features like image optimization, lazy loading, automatic CSS rules, etc, you need an Autoptimze Pro version.
Top Features:
- HTML, JavaScript, and CSS files minification
- Combine or aggregate CSS and javascript files
- Image optimization and lazyloading (pro feature)
- Optimize Google Fonts
- Remove WordPress core emojis
- Defer scripts to the footer
Pricing:
You can download the free version from WordPress.org. The Pro version costs $11.99/mo or $79/year for a single site license.
Conclusion on WP Rocket Alternatives
WP Rocket is one of the best WordPress cache plugins. It’s a powerful solution to boost your website speed and optimize your Core Web Vitals.
However, it’s not the only option. There are many WP Rocket alternatives available, as we see above that offer similar or even more features.
All of the plugins do a great job of improving your site’s speed and performance. However, if you’re not sure which one to choose for your website, here’s what we’d suggest:
- NitroPack: It is the best option if you want an all-in-one optimization solution. It can do all of the things that WP Rocket can do, among others.
- WP-Optimize: It’s a good free alternative to WP Rocket if you’re not ready to invest in a paid plugin yet. The free WordPress plugin can handle most of the optimizations you need to boost your site performance.
That’s it!
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is NitroPack Better Than WP Rocket?Absolutely. NitroPack is a good all-in-one speed optimization platform if you have money to invest in your site and don’t have time for manual fixes. It’s an easy-to-implement solution to pass the Core Web Vitals and has excellent customizability.
However, it’s more expensive than WP Rocket. For more, check out our complete NitroPack vs WP Rocket comparison.
Absolutely. NitroPack is a good all-in-one speed optimization platform if you have money to invest in your site and don’t have time for manual fixes. It’s an easy-to-implement solution to pass the Core Web Vitals and has excellent customizability.
However, it’s more expensive than WP Rocket. For more, check out our complete NitroPack vs WP Rocket comparison.
Which Is Better, W3 Total Cache or WP Rocket?W3 Total Cache and WP Rocket are both excellent caching plugins for speeding up your site. However, WP Rocket is slightly better due to its ease of use and more comprehensive suite of tools.
W3 Total Cache and WP Rocket are both excellent caching plugins for speeding up your site. However, WP Rocket is slightly better due to its ease of use and more comprehensive suite of tools.
Does WP Rocket Have a Free Version?No. It’s a premium plugin that requires a paid license to use all its features and benefits.
No. It’s a premium plugin that requires a paid license to use all its features and benefits.
Is LiteSpeed Better Than WP Rocket?If you have time and knowledge to configure QUIC.cloud, LiteSpeed cache can outperform WP Rocket on some sites.
However, WP Rocket is easier to use, faster to deploy, and delivers excellent performance results. So, for most of users, WP Rocket is a better option.
If you have time and knowledge to configure QUIC.cloud, LiteSpeed cache can outperform WP Rocket on some sites.
However, WP Rocket is easier to use, faster to deploy, and delivers excellent performance results. So, for most of users, WP Rocket is a better option.
Does WP Rocket Compress Images?WP Rocket does not support image compression, which is one of the reasons why it may not be the best option for everyone.
If you want to compress images, you’ll need to use a WP Rocket with a specific image compression tool like Imagify.
Alternatively, use an all-in-one WP Rocket alternative, such as NitroPack.
WP Rocket does not support image compression, which is one of the reasons why it may not be the best option for everyone.
If you want to compress images, you’ll need to use a WP Rocket with a specific image compression tool like Imagify.
Alternatively, use an all-in-one WP Rocket alternative, such as NitroPack.
What Is the Best Free Alternative to WP Rocket?If your site has low traffic, we recommend using NitroPack’s free version. It contains all features but is limited to 5,000 page views and 1GB of CDN bandwidth each month. If you reach that limit, it will disable automatically.
If you have a high-traffic site, WP-optimize is definitely your best option.
If your site has low traffic, we recommend using NitroPack’s free version. It contains all features but is limited to 5,000 page views and 1GB of CDN bandwidth each month. If you reach that limit, it will disable automatically.
If you have a high-traffic site, WP-optimize is definitely your best option.
