WP Rocket is a powerful caching plugin, if you use it, you'll surely love it. But its $59 yearly price (single license) can be the stumbling block for many beginner bloggers.
If this is you, there's good news.
There are several WP Rocket free alternatives, though not as adequate as WP Rocket, but sufficient to provide fast loading and great website performance.
So if you're looking for a free cache plugin or paid alternatives for WP Rocket, you will love this list.
Some of these alternatives to WP Rocket are easier to set up, while some are very complex, like W3 Total cache; So it makes good sense to go through the list, features, setup process, and ease of use, before making your choices.
Without waiting further, let's walk through the list of free and paid WP Rocket alternatives caching plugins.
Which is The Best WP Rocket Alternatives Cache Plugin?
Here are a few things to keep in mind before you check out the list; I have experience with these plugins either for clients or personal blogs.
I have been blogging since 2012, so it is natural to have used many of these optimization plugins.
What I can tell you is this, website optimization is not a one-size-fits-all approach.
Some websites require powerful caching, while some might just need an image optimization solution to perform better, so it all depends on your current needs, any plugin on this list might do the job for you.
Go through the list, examine the plugin's main functionalities, and see whether it fits your situation.
Now, let's get into it.
1. NitroPack
NitroPack is the best alternative caching and performance solution to WP Rocket. There's a paid plan, but the free version is more than sufficient for most personal blogs.
The free plan gives you essential features and tools required for optimal website performance. The premium plan gives you more speed and performance features and tools.
However, the NitroPack premium is costly. It costs more than WP Rocket for its entry-level plan. But it is worth it if you have the budget to pay for it.
The plan starts at $17.50 monthly and goes up to $146.67 for its top-tier Scale plan.
Upon activation, NitroPack automatically enables caching, image optimization, file and code optimization, HTML minification, cache warmup, global CDN, etc.
These are premium features in WP Rocket, but you get them for free in NitroPack.
After optimization with NitroPack, I achieve amazing Google Core Web Vital results and averaged 98 mobile page speed scores for most of the pages.
In my test, NitroPack is hands-down the best Google Core Web Vitals optimization tool. Read my review of it here for more detail on the test results.
NitroPack Top Features
- Image optimization and lazy loading feature.
- HTML, JavaScript, and CSS code minification.
- Built-in global CDN services powered by Cloudflare
- Access to exclude files and resources from optimization.
- Lazy load iframe
- Delay resource loading - e.g, JavaScript resources.
- CSS and JavaScript compression.
- Automatic enabling Gzip and Brotli compression formats.
- Optimize old and new URLs in one click.
- Integration with third-party services and tools.
- Supports for WebP images
- Automatically resize and load the image correctly based on the container - Adaptive image resizing.
2. WP-Optimize
WP-Optimize is one of the best WP Rocket free alternatives, it's a powerful page caching plugin.
Beyond page caching, it does other things: Image optimization, Database cleanup, and Minify.
You can tweak the file minification settings to fit your website requirements.
It has most of the advanced file optimization features in WP Rocket. Post-preloading, inline, and merging of JavaScript and CSS files, optimizing Google font, etc.
Database cleanup is one of the core features of WP-Optimize. You can schedule database cleanup based on your setting, and delete unused tables, spam comments, trash, unapproved comments, trackbacks, etc.
Enabling the cache function is one click, and that's all you need to configure it. You can select to generate a separate cache for mobile and logged-in users; set the cache lifespan, and you're set.
The image compression feature is managed by reSmush.it, which is a free service. It works well but does not optimize and act upon old images on your site. It only optimizes newly-added images from when the feature was activated in the plugin.
So it may not be the best image optimization tool for everyone.
Lazyload in WP-Optimize is a premium service not available in the free plan.
WP-Optimize Top Features
- One-click page cache enabled
- Javascript and CSS minify
- Font optimization
- Image compression and lazy load (premium features)
- Preload posts in the background
- Gzip compressions
- Advanced database cleanup
3. Autoptimize
Autoptimize's main function is not caching, but optimizing your website files and codes.
For example, you will find the most options to aggregate inline CSS, HTML, and JavaScript files, which can have great impacts on Google Core Web Vitals.
It also has settings for minification, combining, cache script, styles, and deferring files.
Autoptimize extra features include Google font optimization, preload/preconnect, lazy load images, and removing Gutenberg CSS. But the plugin's primary function is CSS, HTML, and JavaScript optimization.
It works great when combined with other cache plugins like WP Rocket, and it is a good alternative to cache plugins if you're on a web host that restricts many popular cache plugins.
If you're going to use WP Rocket together with Autoptimize, WP Rocket automatically detects similar features and turns them off in its plugin. So you don't have to worry about compatibility issues, both plugins work together harmoniously.
The Pro version gives you more tools like image optimization and lazy loading features, automatic CSS rules, delay files loading rules, and removing resources on posts/pages. etc.
Read this post on Tom's blog if you're looking for the best Autoptimize settings for your website.
Autoptimize Top Features
- Image optimization and lazy-loading
- Automatic CSS rules creation to prevent render-blocking resources (Improves Largest contentful Paint and First Contentful Paint)
- Optimize Google font
- HTML, JavaScript, and CSS files minification
- Combine or aggregate CSS and javascript files
- Integrate with CDN services and serve files from the CDN URLs.
- Adaptive image resizing by ShortPixel
- HTML, CSS, and JavaScript delay feature
- Remove unwanted resources from the page/post or sitewide to improve performance.
4. WP Fastest Cache
Unlike WP Rocket, WP Fastest Cache offers both free and premium versions of its plugin. The premium plan starts at $49 for a single website license. But you pay once and use it for a lifetime. No renewal costs.
It offers similar features to WP Rocket; caching, HTML minify, combining JS files to reduce HTTPS requests, browser caching, disabling WordPress emoji, eliminating render-blocking JS resources, etc.
For beginners, WP Fastest cache is pretty simple to configure. Most of the settings only require a check-box and you're good.
Here is the WP Fastest cache setting page.
It works with major CDN service providers including Cloudflare, Stackpath, etc.
The image optimization feature is only available in the pro plan.
However, there are a few settings worth mentioning, like the option to exclude certain file and cookie pages from optimization. You can also exclude specific user agents from page rules and optimize WordPress databases.
The downside to WP Fastest cache is that some of its premium features are available as a free option in many caching plugins.
For example, Google font optimization, inline and minify of resources, and image optimization is offered as free features in NitroPack.
WP Fastest Cache is good, but if you want more essential features in a free option, it is not the best free alternative to WP Rocket.
WP Fastest Top Features
- Create a separate cache for mobile and desktop users.
- Automatically clear cache when posts/pages are updated.
- Combine and minify JS, HTML, and CSS resources
- Asynchronously load Google font.
- Lazy load images and iframes until the user scrolls to the viewpoint.
- Widget cache reduces the number of SQL queries
- Database optimization and cleanup
5. W3 Total Cache
W3 Total Cache is a very complex plugin to set up, especially for beginners. The interface is not user-friendly, it requires a bit of patience and effort to navigate through.
Cramming every feature into a single page does not help using the general setting page. Though you can quickly jump to a section through the navigational menu, it could be challenging to look for a specific feature.
From the above image, you can see how cluttered the interface is. It requires endless scrolling to reach some features.
Aside, W3 Total Cache is a feature-rich plugin that tends to give you everything you need to achieve maximum page speed and optimal website user experience.
It has some features not found in many WordPress caching plugins. But if you're not tech-savvy, configuring the W3 Total cache can be a nightmare.
Unless you know how to get it working for your site, other plugins on this list might be a better option.
W3 Total Cache Top Features
- One-click cache enabler
- Built-in one-click CDN integration
- Advanced user experience features - Lazy Loading, disable emoji, wp-embed script, jquery-migrate on the front end.
- One-click enables the minification of JavaScript, HTML, and CSS files.
- Cache database, browser, page, and object cache.
- Lazy load Google maps
- Fragments cache for themes and plugins that uses Transient API
- Opcode cache to improve PHP performance.
- Database cache
- And lots more.
6. WP Super Cache
WP Super Cache is a simple yet powerful caching plugin from the same guys that give you WordPress - Automattic. So it makes sense to think this would be a perfect combo for a WordPress blog.
It's not that simple.
Caching is the main function of the WP Super Cache, it does not offer much beyond that. No feature for file minification, image optimization, inline resources, etc.
The setting page is easy to walk through; upon activation, the cache is disabled, and you must turn it on to get it working.
If you must use WP Super Cache, you should do so along with other plugins like Autoptimize, Fast Velocity Minify, WP-Optimize, JetPack Boost, etc. You must disable the cache in the other plugin if the same is present.
You don't need to do anything in the CDN tab if you have JetPack Site Accelerator enabled on your site. The CDN feature will be auto-disabled in WP Super Cache to avoid conflict.
Though WP Super Cache is easier to configure than W3 Total Cache, the latter is more effective, feature-rich, and the better WP Rocket free alternative plugin.
WP Super Cache Top Features
- One-click advanced cache setup
- Automatic cache rebuild
- Cache preloading
- Test your website cache in one click
- Enable/disable cache for logged-in users
- Disabled cache for specific browser cookies
- Cache HTTP headers
- Provide support for JetPack mobile theme and WPTouch
- Dynamic cache
- And more
7. LiteSpeed Cache
Litespeed cache offers several advanced cache options, you can configure different cache types individually- page cache, browser cache, object cache, and tons of other tweaks.
It is an all-in-one speed and performance optimization WordPress plugin with 3 million+ installations. Its features include file minification, caching, image optimization, CDN, support for third-party services, database, etc.
But for beginners, configuring the features can be overwhelming. Even for advanced users, it takes patience and effort to correctly set up the LiteSpeed cache.
And not to mention connecting to the QUIC.cloud server, which requires access to a domain key.
When you enable the QUIC.cloud, you have more features activated in the Litespeed cache - image optimization, CDN, database cleanup, and lots more.
LiteSpeed general features will work on any of these servers; Nginx, Litespeed, and Apache- while Litespeed exclusive features will only work on Litespeed-powered servers, OpenLitespeed, Commercial LiteSpeed, and QUIC.Cloud CDN.
Overall, LiteSpeed cache is not an ideal WP Rocket alternative if you're looking for a solution with a simple setup process and great performance.
LiteSpeed Cache Top Features
- Advanced cache optimization features.
- Lossless/Lossy image optimization tools.
- Automatic generates critical CSS
- WordPress database optimization
- WordPress heartbeat control
- JavaScript, HTML, and CSS minification
- Inline and combine CSS and JS files
- Create separate mobile and desktop caching
- Support for woo-commerce and bbpress
- Cache WordPress REST API calls
- Cached pages for logged-in users
- And tons of other helpful features
8. Fast Velocity Minify
This plugin does just one thing - optimizing HTML, JavaScript, and CSS files - and it is more effective than any other plugins in that category.
It offers most of the advanced features you would expect in a file minification plugin- HTML comment cleanup, removal of emoji, merging multiple files, advanced CSS rules, Async CSS files, render blocking and defer JS files, etc.
Fast Velocity Minify also provides support for Content Delivery Networks. You can integrate any CDN service provider and serve optimized URLs.
The setting page is beginner-friendly and tidy, and each feature is well-organized into sections. If you don't understand what a feature is, the help tab comes in handy.
However, Fast Velocity Minify is not a cache plugin, so you must use it with a cache plugin to achieve maximum page speed, boost website performance and improve Google Core Web Vital results.
So, Fast Velocity Minify is not a replacement for WP Rocket, instead, use it as a complimentary plugin to improve overall website performance.
I use Fast Velocity Minify together with NitroPack, and the result was very impressive. Look at the image below. That's the mobile page speed score.
Fast Velocity Minify Top Features
- Combine JS, CSS, and HTML files into groups by resource type.
- Disable JavaScript link preload
- Optimize HTML, JS, and CSS files
- Defer inline JS resources.
- Delay third-party resources until user interaction.
- Disable CSS minification and Styles
- Combine font and icon separately.
- CDN integration
- Enable CDN for merged CSS and JS files.
- And lot more
FAQ - Best WP Rocket Free Alternatives Plugins
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What is The Best Free Cache Plugin for WordPress?
Several WordPress cache plugins can compete for the best title, including WP-Optimize, W3 Total Cache, WP Super Cache, etc.
I would put my money on WP-Optimize, though -
Which is better: WP Rocket or W3 Total cache?
WP Rocket is a paid plugin, with no free version, while W3 Total Cache offers both free and paid versions of its plugin.
So, it depends on what you're looking for in a cache plugin, as you would expect, being a paid product, WP Rocket is better than W3 Total Cache in many aspects.
WP Rocket is easier to set up, even beginners can get it working in under 2 minutes. This is not so with the W3 Total cache. It is a much more complex plugin to configure. -
Is WP fastest cache free?
Yes, WP Fastest cache is free and you can download it at WordPress.org.
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Is WP Super cache free?
Yes, WP Super cache is free, likewise, you can download the free version at wordpress.org.
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Do I really need a caching plugin?
To improve page speed and user experience, you must use cache features on your blog. It will help you improve page speed, reduce server process time, and increase user experience.
There are several WordPress cache plugins you can use, I have listed some of them in this post.
Go through the list, and see what option best fits your situation. I would advise you to try NiroPack, it is the best all-in-one speed and performance solution you can get.
Conclusion - Free WP Rocket Alternatives
There is no clear-cut answer to the best WP Rocket free alternatives, your option depends on several factors.
The size of your website, needs, experience, budgets, etc. These factors play significant roles in your decision.
However, if you're on a budget, WP-Optimize and NitroPack free versions are sufficient for a personal website. Both plugins are easy to configure and offer the best value for money.
But if you're still in doubt which option is best for you, you can read my NitroPack vs WP Rocket review to learn more.
