Autoptimize vs WP Super Cache
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, lightweight static HTML page cache from Automattic, with preload, CDN URL rewriting and mobile support; no front-end optimisation tools.
Choose Autoptimize if…
- You need defer / delay JavaScript and remove unused CSS
- You also want minify CSS & JS and critical CSS
- You want the more complete feature set (70/100 vs 35/100)
- You weigh user ratings (4.7 vs 4.3 on WordPress.org)
Choose WP Super Cache if…
- You need browser caching rules
Autoptimize includes 13 features that WP Super Cache lacks, including Minify CSS & JS, Combine files and Defer / delay JavaScript; WP Super Cache has 1 that Autoptimize lacks, including Browser caching rules. Both include 5 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 Super CacheCaching4/87/8
Free plugin has no page cache; Autoptimize Pro adds one.
Generates static HTML files served via PHP (Simple) or mod_rewrite (Expert).
Does not manage browser cache headers.
Supports 304 Not Modified in Simple mode; no expires rules for static assets.
Could not confirm cache preloading for the Pro page cache.
Preload mode builds cache files for posts, categories and tags.
No Redis/Memcached integration.
No object cache integration.
No documentation found on a separate mobile cache in Pro.
Optional mobile support appends a mobile key so phones get their own cache.
Option to skip optimising cart/checkout for WooCommerce, EDD, WP eCommerce.
WooCommerce natively stops it caching cart, checkout and My Account.
Plugin-level optimisation that works on any host.
Simple mode runs via PHP on most hosts; Expert mode needs Apache mod_rewrite.
Network-wide or per-site settings on multisite since v2.6.
Multisite supported; network activation and Simple mode recommended.
CSS & JavaScript7/70/7
Minifies HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
No minification features.
Optional CSS/JS aggregation; off by default on new installs.
No file combining.
Defer/async JS free; Pro boosters delay all or third-party JS.
No defer or delay JavaScript options.
No rule-level unused CSS removal; Pro can strip unneeded CSS files per page.
No unused CSS removal.
Inline & defer CSS; manual rules free, automatic via criticalcss.com key or Pro.
No critical CSS generation.
Combine, async-load or remove Google Fonts.
No font optimisation tools.
Preconnect domains and preload a chosen image per page.
No preload, prefetch or preconnect controls.
Media & delivery6/71/7
Lazy-loads images using the lazysizes library.
No lazy loading feature.
Optional on-the-fly optimisation via ShortPixel's CDN; usage limits apply.
No image compression.
Image optimisation serves WebP and AVIF where supported.
No WebP or AVIF conversion or delivery.
Rewrites optimised asset URLs to a CDN base URL.
Integrated OSSDL off-linker rewrites wp-content/wp-includes URLs to a CDN.
No Cloudflare API integration; assets simply pass through Cloudflare's CDN.
No Cloudflare API integration; docs only advise Simple mode with Cloudflare.
Pro booster delays YouTube, Vimeo and Dailymotion iframes.
No video embed placeholders.
Images only, via ShortPixel's CDN; Pro raises CDN delivery limits.
No vendor-run CDN included.
Housekeeping1/30/3
No database cleanup tools.
No database cleanup tools.
No Heartbeat API control.
No Heartbeat API control.
Single WP-CLI command to clear the Autoptimize cache.
WP-CLI commands via the separate wp-cli/wp-super-cache-cli package.
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 Super Cache Free
| Free | $0 |
|---|---|
| Free | Free lifetime, Unlimited |
Downloads trend
Autoptimize
381,896 downloads last week
WP Super Cache
88,298 downloads last week
Verdict
Autoptimize scores higher on our feature checklist (70/100 against 35/100) and includes defer / delay JavaScript, remove unused CSS and minify CSS & JS that WP Super Cache does not. WP Super Cache still has the edge on browser caching rules. Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.
Biggest differences
Autoptimize: included. WP Super Cache: not included. Defer/async JS free; Pro boosters delay all or third-party JS.
Autoptimize: partial. WP Super Cache: not included. No rule-level unused CSS removal; Pro can strip unneeded CSS files per page.
Autoptimize: not included. WP Super Cache: partial. Supports 304 Not Modified in Simple mode; no expires rules for static assets.
Autoptimize: included. WP Super Cache: not included. Minifies HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
Autoptimize: included. WP Super Cache: not included. Inline & defer CSS; manual rules free, automatic via criticalcss.com key or Pro.
Autoptimize: included. WP Super Cache: not included. Lazy-loads images using the lazysizes library.
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 Super Cache?
Autoptimize scores higher on our feature checklist (70/100 against 35/100) and includes defer / delay JavaScript, remove unused CSS and minify CSS & JS that WP Super Cache does not. WP Super Cache still has the edge on browser caching rules. Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.
Which has more features?
Autoptimize includes 18 of the 25 features we track, against 8 for WP Super Cache. 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 Super Cache free?
WP Super Cache has a free version on WordPress.org.
Feature data last changed 5 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit to Autoptimize or WP Super Cache. Some links are affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no cost to you; it never affects our data or rankings.