Autoptimize vs WP Rocket
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.
Premium all-in-one caching and performance plugin for WordPress that applies page caching, file optimisation and lazy loading as soon as it is activated.
Choose Autoptimize if…
- You want to start with a free version
Choose WP Rocket if…
- You need browser caching rules and Cloudflare integration
- You also want database cleanup and heartbeat control
- You want the more complete feature set (89/100 vs 70/100)
- You want the lower entry price ($59.95/yr vs $89/yr)
WP Rocket has 4 that Autoptimize lacks, including Browser caching rules, Cloudflare integration and Database cleanup. Both include 17 of the 25 features we track. 3 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 RocketCaching4/87/8
Free plugin has no page cache; Autoptimize Pro adds one.
Static HTML page cache is active as soon as the plugin is enabled.
Does not manage browser cache headers.
Adds browser cache rules for images, CSS and JS automatically.
Could not confirm cache preloading for the Pro page cache.
Sitemap-based preload rebuilds the cache after changes; link preloading also available.
No Redis/Memcached integration.
No Redis/Memcached object cache feature; use a separate object-cache drop-in.
No documentation found on a separate mobile cache in Pro.
Separate mobile cache files are on by default (phones only; tablets treated as desktop).
Option to skip optimising cart/checkout for WooCommerce, EDD, WP eCommerce.
Cart, checkout and account pages are excluded from cache automatically.
Plugin-level optimisation that works on any host.
Works on Apache, Nginx and managed hosts; not tied to a specific server stack.
Network-wide or per-site settings on multisite since v2.6.
Supported; vendor advises per-site activation so each sub-site keeps its own settings.
CSS & JavaScript7/77/7
Minifies HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
Separate options to minify CSS files and JavaScript files.
Optional CSS/JS aggregation; off by default on new installs.
Can combine JavaScript files; the old CSS combine option has been retired.
Defer/async JS free; Pro boosters delay all or third-party JS.
Load JavaScript deferred plus Delay JavaScript execution with one-click exclusions.
No rule-level unused CSS removal; Pro can strip unneeded CSS files per page.
Remove Unused CSS generated by WP Rocket's cloud service, with a safelist.
Inline & defer CSS; manual rules free, automatic via criticalcss.com key or Pro.
Load CSS asynchronously generates critical CSS per page, with fallback CSS.
Combine, async-load or remove Google Fonts.
Self-host Google Fonts and preload chosen font files.
Preconnect domains and preload a chosen image per page.
Font and link preloading plus automatic preconnect to external domains (since 3.19).
Media & delivery6/77/7
Lazy-loads images using the lazysizes library.
Lazy load images and CSS background images, with exclusions.
Optional on-the-fly optimisation via ShortPixel's CDN; usage limits apply.
Compression is provided by the separate Imagify plugin (free tier, paid plans).
Image optimisation serves WebP and AVIF where supported.
WebP compatibility serves next-gen files created by Imagify or other plugins; no conversion itself.
Rewrites optimised asset URLs to a CDN base URL.
Rewrites asset URLs to any CDN CNAME you enter.
No Cloudflare API integration; assets simply pass through Cloudflare's CDN.
Built-in Cloudflare add-on for purging, dev mode and optimal settings.
Pro booster delays YouTube, Vimeo and Dailymotion iframes.
Option to replace YouTube iframes with a preview image until clicked.
Images only, via ShortPixel's CDN; Pro raises CDN delivery limits.
RocketCDN free for 3 pages; whole-site RocketCDN Pro is $7.99/month.
Housekeeping1/32/3
No database cleanup tools.
Cleans revisions, drafts, trash, spam, transients and optimises tables on a schedule.
No Heartbeat API control.
Reduce or disable Heartbeat separately for backend, editor and frontend.
Single WP-CLI command to clear the Autoptimize cache.
Free official wp-rocket-cli package adds purge, preload and settings commands.
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 Rocket Premium
| Single | $59.95 per year, 1 site |
|---|---|
| Plus | $119.95 per year, 3 sites |
| Multi | $299.95 per year, 50 sites |
Downloads trend
Autoptimize
372,983 downloads last week
WP Rocket
No WordPress.org download data (premium-only plugin).
Verdict
WP Rocket scores higher on our feature checklist (89/100 against 70/100) and includes browser caching rules, Cloudflare integration and database cleanup that Autoptimize does not. Only Autoptimize has a free version. Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.
Biggest differences
Autoptimize: not included. WP Rocket: included. Adds browser cache rules for images, CSS and JS automatically.
Autoptimize: not included. WP Rocket: included. Built-in Cloudflare add-on for purging, dev mode and optimal settings.
Autoptimize: not included. WP Rocket: included. Cleans revisions, drafts, trash, spam, transients and optimises tables on a schedule.
Autoptimize: not included. WP Rocket: included. Reduce or disable Heartbeat separately for backend, editor and frontend.
Written from the feature, pricing and install data on this page, not from hands-on testing. How we compare.
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FAQ
Which is better, Autoptimize or WP Rocket?
WP Rocket scores higher on our feature checklist (89/100 against 70/100) and includes browser caching rules, Cloudflare integration and database cleanup that Autoptimize does not. Only Autoptimize has a free version. Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.
Which has more features?
WP Rocket includes 23 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 Rocket free?
WP Rocket is premium only. Paid plans start at $59.95/yr.
Feature data last changed 5 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit to Autoptimize or WP Rocket. Some links are affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no cost to you; it never affects our data or rankings.