Autoptimize vs WP-Optimize
Updated 5 Oct 2026. 25 features compared side by side.
Front-end optimiser that minifies, aggregates and defers CSS/JS, optimises images and Google Fonts. No page cache in the free plugin; Pro adds one.
Free all-in-one plugin from TeamUpdraft combining page caching, image compression with WebP, database cleanup and minification.
Choose Autoptimize if…
- You need critical CSS and CDN integration
- You also want included CDN service
Choose WP-Optimize if…
- You need browser caching rules and Cloudflare integration
- You also want database cleanup
- You want the more complete feature set (80/100 vs 70/100)
- You want the lower entry price ($49/yr vs $89/yr)
Autoptimize includes 3 features that WP-Optimize lacks, including Critical CSS, CDN integration and Included CDN service; WP-Optimize has 3 that Autoptimize lacks, including Browser caching rules, Cloudflare integration and Database cleanup. Both include 15 of the 25 features we track. 2 features are not yet verified for one or both plugins.
At a glance
Feature comparison
Click a screenshot to see both plugins side by side.
Autoptimize WP-OptimizeCaching4/87/8
Free plugin has no page cache; Autoptimize Pro adds one.
One-click page cache with URL, cookie and user-agent exclusions.
Does not manage browser cache headers.
Browser static-file cache settings on Apache; Nginx needs server config.
Could not confirm cache preloading for the Pro page cache.
Cache preloader emulates visits on a schedule.
No Redis/Memcached integration.
No Redis or Memcached object cache integration is offered.
No documentation found on a separate mobile cache in Pro.
Option to generate separate cache files for mobile devices.
Option to skip optimising cart/checkout for WooCommerce, EDD, WP eCommerce.
Skips pages marked DONOTCACHEPAGE such as cart, checkout and account.
Plugin-level optimisation that works on any host.
Cache works on Apache, Nginx and IIS servers.
Network-wide or per-site settings on multisite since v2.6.
Multisite support is a Premium feature.
CSS & JavaScript7/76/7
Minifies HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
Free minification of HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
Optional CSS/JS aggregation; off by default on new installs.
Minify-and-merge mode combines CSS and JS files.
Defer/async JS free; Pro boosters delay all or third-party JS.
Defers or asynchronously loads JS; Delay JS added in v4.0.
No rule-level unused CSS removal; Pro can strip unneeded CSS files per page.
Premium removes unused CSS rules (added in v4.3).
Inline & defer CSS; manual rules free, automatic via criticalcss.com key or Pro.
No critical CSS generator in the free or Premium feature list.
Combine, async-load or remove Google Fonts.
Optimises Google Fonts and Font Awesome with font-display swap.
Preconnect domains and preload a chosen image per page.
Preload key requests and assets, plus auto LCP preload, are Premium.
Media & delivery6/75/7
Lazy-loads images using the lazysizes library.
Image lazy loading is Premium only.
Optional on-the-fly optimisation via ShortPixel's CDN; usage limits apply.
Lossy/lossless compression with bulk and auto-compress.
Image optimisation serves WebP and AVIF where supported.
Free WebP conversion; AVIF is not mentioned.
Rewrites optimised asset URLs to a CDN base URL.
No CDN URL rewriting; only Cloudflare is integrated natively.
No Cloudflare API integration; assets simply pass through Cloudflare's CDN.
Premium purges Cloudflare cache when WP-Optimize clears its cache.
Pro booster delays YouTube, Vimeo and Dailymotion iframes.
Premium replaces YouTube iframes with preview images (v4.2).
Images only, via ShortPixel's CDN; Pro raises CDN delivery limits.
No vendor-run CDN.
Housekeeping1/32/3
No database cleanup tools.
Cleans revisions, drafts, spam and transients with scheduling.
No Heartbeat API control.
No Heartbeat API control for site owners.
Single WP-CLI command to clear the Autoptimize cache.
Premium adds WP-CLI commands for running optimisations.
Statuses: Yes Pro Add-on Partial 3rd-party No ?
Pricing compared
Autoptimize Freemium
| Free | $0 |
|---|---|
| Free | Free per year, Unlimited |
| Pro Single Site | $89 per year, 1 site |
| Pro 5 Sites | $379 per year, 5 sites |
WP-Optimize Freemium
| Free | $0 |
|---|---|
| Starter | $49 per year, 2 sites |
| Business | $99 per year, 5 sites |
| Enterprise | $194 per year, Unlimited |
Downloads trend
Autoptimize
372,983 downloads last week
WP-Optimize
50,425 downloads last week
Verdict
WP-Optimize scores higher on our feature checklist (80/100 against 70/100) and includes browser caching rules, Cloudflare integration and database cleanup that Autoptimize does not. Autoptimize still has the edge on critical CSS and CDN integration. Paid plans start at $89/yr for Autoptimize and $49/yr for WP-Optimize. Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.
Biggest differences
Autoptimize: not included. WP-Optimize: included. Browser static-file cache settings on Apache; Nginx needs server config.
Autoptimize: included. WP-Optimize: not included. Inline & defer CSS; manual rules free, automatic via criticalcss.com key or Pro.
Autoptimize: included. WP-Optimize: not included. Rewrites optimised asset URLs to a CDN base URL.
Autoptimize: not included. WP-Optimize: paid version (Premium). Premium purges Cloudflare cache when WP-Optimize clears its cache.
Autoptimize: partial. WP-Optimize: not included. Images only, via ShortPixel's CDN; Pro raises CDN delivery limits.
Autoptimize: not included. WP-Optimize: included. Cleans revisions, drafts, spam and transients with scheduling.
Written from the feature, pricing and install data on this page, not from hands-on testing. How we compare.
Which would you choose?
0 votes so far. Vote to see the results.
Compare something else
FAQ
Which is better, Autoptimize or WP-Optimize?
WP-Optimize scores higher on our feature checklist (80/100 against 70/100) and includes browser caching rules, Cloudflare integration and database cleanup that Autoptimize does not. Autoptimize still has the edge on critical CSS and CDN integration. Paid plans start at $89/yr for Autoptimize and $49/yr for WP-Optimize. Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.
Which has more features?
WP-Optimize includes 20 of the 25 features we track, against 18 for Autoptimize. Feature count is only part of the picture; check which of the differences matter to you.
Is Autoptimize free?
Autoptimize has a free version on WordPress.org. Paid plans start at $89/yr.
Is WP-Optimize free?
WP-Optimize has a free version on WordPress.org. Paid plans start at $49/yr.
Feature data last changed 5 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit to Autoptimize or WP-Optimize. Some links are affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no cost to you; it never affects our data or rankings.