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Breeze vs Hummingbird

Updated 5 Oct 2026. 25 features compared side by side.

Breeze

★★★★★★★★★★ 3.6 (133)

Free caching plugin from Cloudways with page cache, minification, lazy load, Varnish support, CDN rewriting and database cleanup. Works on any host.

Free installs300K+
FromFree
UpdatedOct 2026
Visit site Full profile
VS

Hummingbird

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 (1,488)

WPMU DEV's performance plugin with page, browser and Gravatar caching, asset optimisation, Cloudflare tools and Redis; Pro adds critical CSS and a CDN.

Free installs70K+
From$60/yr
UpdatedSep 2026
Visit site Full profile

Choose Breeze if…

  • You need CDN integration and lazy-load video embeds
  • You also want heartbeat control
  • You prefer the more widely used option

Choose Hummingbird if…

  • You need remove unused CSS and object cache
  • You also want critical CSS and image compression
  • You want the more complete feature set (86/100 vs 71/100)
  • You weigh user ratings (4.7 vs 3.6 on WordPress.org)

Breeze includes 3 features that Hummingbird lacks, including CDN integration, Lazy-load video embeds and Heartbeat control; Hummingbird has 6 that Breeze lacks, including Object cache, Remove unused CSS and Critical CSS. Both include 15 of the 25 features we track. 1 feature is not yet verified for one or both plugins.

At a glance

Breeze
Hummingbird
71/100
Feature score
86/100
19 of 25
Features included
21 of 25
3.6/5
WordPress.org rating
4.7/5
300K+
Active installs
70K+
54%
Support threads resolved
100%

Feature comparison

Click a screenshot to see both plugins side by side.

Feature
Breeze
Hummingbird
Caching7/88/8
Page caching KeyServes pre-built HTML pages.
Breeze Included

File-based static page cache with configurable purge interval.

Hummingbird Included

Full page cache; uses WPMU DEV static server cache when hosted there.

Browser caching rulesSets cache headers for static files.
Breeze Included

Browser Cache option adds expiry headers for static files.

Hummingbird Included

Sets browser cache expiry, or Cloudflare browser TTL when connected.

Cache preloadingBuilds the cache before visitors arrive.
Breeze Included

Cache Warmup URLs option rebuilds cache for chosen pages after purges.

Hummingbird Included

Preload caching option builds cached files automatically.

Object cacheRedis or Memcached object caching.
Breeze Not included

No Redis/Memcached setting in the plugin; Cloudways offers object caching at server level.

Hummingbird Included

Redis integration for object caching when Redis is available.

Separate mobile cacheDifferent cache for mobile devices.
Breeze Included

Mobile Cache option keeps a dedicated cache for mobile devices.

Hummingbird Included

Cache on mobile devices option, on by default.

WooCommerce-aware cachingExcludes cart, checkout and account pages automatically.
Breeze Included

Developer states it works with WooCommerce out of the box.

Hummingbird Included

Excludes WooCommerce session cookies and cart/checkout pages by default.

Page cache on any serverPage caching works on Apache, Nginx and LiteSpeed alike.
Breeze Included

Core caching and optimisation work on any host; Varnish features need Varnish.

Hummingbird Included

Works on any host; switches to static server cache on WPMU DEV hosting.

Multisite supportWorks on WordPress multisite networks.
Breeze Included

Multisite supported with settings handled at network level.

Hummingbird Included

Network-level page cache controls with optional per-subsite opt-out.

CSS & JavaScript5/77/7
Minify CSS & JSStrips whitespace from CSS and JavaScript.
Breeze Included

Minifies HTML, CSS and JS, including inline code if chosen.

Hummingbird Included

Compress CSS/JS per file or automatically; Pro adds enhanced minify.

Combine filesMerges CSS/JS files.
Breeze Included

Separate Combine CSS and Combine JS options.

Hummingbird Included

Combine option per asset in Asset Optimization.

Defer / delay JavaScript KeyLoads scripts after the page renders or on interaction.
Breeze Included

Defer chosen JS files, move JS to footer and delay inline scripts.

Hummingbird Included

Defer free; Delay JavaScript until interaction needs Pro.

Remove unused CSS KeyGenerates only the CSS each page uses.
Breeze Not included

No unused CSS removal option.

Hummingbird Paid version Pro

Full-page critical CSS mode can remove unused CSS.

Critical CSSInlines above-the-fold CSS.
Breeze Not included

Does not generate critical CSS.

Hummingbird Paid version Pro

Automatic critical CSS generation, incl. separate mobile CSS.

Font optimisationSelf-hosts or preloads web fonts.
Breeze Included

Preload web fonts and host Google Fonts locally.

Hummingbird Included

Preload fonts and swap web fonts; Google Fonts delivery optimisation.

Preload and prefetchPreload fonts, images or links and prefetch DNS.
Breeze Included

Preload fonts, prefetch DNS and preload links on hover.

Hummingbird Included

Preconnect, DNS prefetch and preload key requests.

Media & delivery4/75/7
Lazy loadingDefers off-screen images and iframes.
Breeze Included

Script-based or native browser lazy load for images.

Hummingbird Via add-on

Image lazy load comes from the free Smush plugin; Hummingbird lazy-loads comments.

Image compressionCompresses uploaded images.
Breeze Not included

No image compression.

Hummingbird Via add-on

Handled by WPMU DEV's sister plugin Smush (free, with Pro tier).

WebP / AVIF deliveryServes next-gen image formats.
Breeze Not included

No WebP or AVIF conversion.

Hummingbird Via add-on

Next-gen formats served via Smush Pro's CDN, not Hummingbird itself.

CDN integrationRewrites asset URLs to a CDN.
Breeze Included

Rewrites static asset URLs to a custom CDN hostname.

Hummingbird Not included

No field to rewrite assets to a third-party CDN; Pro uses WPMU DEV CDN.

Cloudflare integrationPurges or configures Cloudflare.
Breeze Partial

Cloudflare purge only works with Cloudways' Cloudflare Enterprise add-on.

Hummingbird Included

Connect via API key/token to manage browser cache, purge and APO.

Lazy-load video embedsReplace YouTube and Vimeo embeds with a lightweight preview.
Breeze Partial

Lazy-loads iframes (incl. video embeds) but no thumbnail placeholder.

Hummingbird Not included

No video embed placeholder feature.

Included CDN serviceA CDN is part of the product or plan, not just URL rewriting.
Breeze Not included

No CDN bundled with the plugin; Cloudways CDN is a separate hosting service.

Hummingbird Paid version Pro Basic

WPMU DEV asset CDN with Brotli; bandwidth allowance per plan.

Housekeeping3/31/3
Database cleanupRemoves revisions, transients and spam.
Breeze Included

Cleans revisions, drafts, trash, spam and transients.

Hummingbird Included

Database cleanup with optional scheduling.

Heartbeat controlLimits the WordPress Heartbeat API.
Breeze Included

Set Heartbeat frequency for front end, editor and admin.

Hummingbird Not included

No Heartbeat API control.

WP-CLI commandsClear or warm the cache from the command line.
Breeze Included

WP-CLI commands for cache purging and settings import/export.

Hummingbird Not verified

No WP-CLI commands found in readme or developer docs.

Statuses: Yes Pro Add-on Partial 3rd-party No ?

Pricing compared

Breeze Free

Free$0
FreeFree per year, Unlimited

Hummingbird Freemium

Free$0
FreeFree per year, Unlimited
Pro Basic$60 per year, 1 site
Pro Standard$100 per year, 3 sites
Pro Plus$200 per year, 10 sites

Downloads trend

Breeze

49,670 downloads last week

Hummingbird

3,336 downloads last week

Verdict

Based on our feature data Checked 5 Oct 2026

Hummingbird scores higher on our feature checklist (86/100 against 71/100) and includes remove unused CSS, object cache and critical CSS that Breeze does not. Breeze still has the edge on CDN integration and lazy-load video embeds. Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.

Biggest differences

Remove unused CSS

Breeze: not included. Hummingbird: paid version (Pro). Full-page critical CSS mode can remove unused CSS.

Object cache

Breeze: not included. Hummingbird: included. Redis integration for object caching when Redis is available.

Critical CSS

Breeze: not included. Hummingbird: paid version (Pro). Automatic critical CSS generation, incl. separate mobile CSS.

Image compression

Breeze: not included. Hummingbird: via add-on. Handled by WPMU DEV's sister plugin Smush (free, with Pro tier).

CDN integration

Breeze: included. Hummingbird: not included. Rewrites static asset URLs to a custom CDN hostname.

WebP / AVIF delivery

Breeze: not included. Hummingbird: via add-on. Next-gen formats served via Smush Pro's CDN, not Hummingbird itself.

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.

FAQ

Which is better, Breeze or Hummingbird?

Hummingbird scores higher on our feature checklist (86/100 against 71/100) and includes remove unused CSS, object cache and critical CSS that Breeze does not. Breeze still has the edge on CDN integration and lazy-load video embeds. Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.

Which has more features?

Hummingbird includes 21 of the 25 features we track, against 19 for Breeze. Feature count is only part of the picture; check which of the differences matter to you.

Is Breeze free?

Breeze has a free version on WordPress.org.

Is Hummingbird free?

Hummingbird has a free version on WordPress.org. Paid plans start at $60/yr.

Feature data last changed 5 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit to Breeze or Hummingbird. Some links are affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no cost to you; it never affects our data or rankings.