FlyingPress vs Hummingbird
Updated 5 Oct 2026. 25 features compared side by side.
Premium all-in-one WordPress speed plugin: page cache, used-CSS generation, delayed JS, image optimisation, Redis and an optional FlyingCDN add-on.
WPMU DEV's performance plugin with page, browser and Gravatar caching, asset optimisation, Cloudflare tools and Redis; Pro adds critical CSS and a CDN.
Choose FlyingPress if…
- You need CDN integration and lazy-load video embeds
- You also want heartbeat control
- You want the more complete feature set (97/100 vs 86/100)
- You want the lower entry price ($59/yr vs $60/yr)
Choose Hummingbird if…
- You need combine files
- You want to start with a free version
- You prefer the more widely used option
FlyingPress includes 3 features that Hummingbird lacks, including CDN integration, Lazy-load video embeds and Heartbeat control; Hummingbird has 1 that FlyingPress lacks, including Combine files. Both include 20 of the 25 features we track. 1 feature is not yet verified for one or both plugins.
At a glance
Feature comparison
Click a screenshot to see both plugins side by side.
FlyingPress HummingbirdCaching8/88/8
Generates static HTML pages served directly by the web server.
Full page cache; uses WPMU DEV static server cache when hosted there.
Sets long cache headers for static files on Apache/LiteSpeed; Nginx manual.
Sets browser cache expiry, or Cloudflare browser TTL when connected.
Preloads pages automatically and re-preloads related URLs after edits.
Preload caching option builds cached files automatically.
Built-in Redis object cache; needs a Redis server and phpredis extension.
Redis integration for object caching when Redis is available.
Optional separate cache and optimisations for mobile visitors.
Cache on mobile devices option, on by default.
Cart, checkout and My Account are excluded from cache automatically.
Excludes WooCommerce session cookies and cart/checkout pages by default.
Supports Apache, Nginx, LiteSpeed and OpenLiteSpeed on shared, VPS or managed hosts.
Works on any host; switches to static server cache on WPMU DEV hosting.
Multisite supported; activate per subsite, one licence covers all.
Network-level page cache controls with optional per-subsite opt-out.
CSS & JavaScript6/77/7
Minifies CSS and JavaScript on the server or via FlyingCDN.
Compress CSS/JS per file or automatically; Pro adds enhanced minify.
Does not combine CSS/JS files; only Google Fonts requests are combined.
Combine option per asset in Asset Optimization.
Defers scripts and can delay all or selected JS until interaction.
Defer free; Delay JavaScript until interaction needs Pro.
Cloud optimiser extracts used CSS and loads the rest on idle.
Full-page critical CSS mode can remove unused CSS.
Inlines the generated used CSS in the page head for first render.
Automatic critical CSS generation, incl. separate mobile CSS.
Self-hosts Google Fonts, preloads fonts and can show system fonts first.
Preload fonts and swap web fonts; Google Fonts delivery optimisation.
Preloads critical images/fonts with priority hints and prefetches links on hover.
Preconnect, DNS prefetch and preload key requests.
Media & delivery7/75/7
Lazy loads images, videos, iframes and HTML elements.
Image lazy load comes from the free Smush plugin; Hummingbird lazy-loads comments.
Built-in lossy or lossless image compression (added in v5.3).
Handled by WPMU DEV's sister plugin Smush (free, with Pro tier).
Converts images to WebP or AVIF, or keeps the original format.
Next-gen formats served via Smush Pro's CDN, not Hummingbird itself.
CDN URL field can point assets at third-party CDNs such as Bunny.
No field to rewrite assets to a third-party CDN; Pro uses WPMU DEV CDN.
Cloudflare full-page caching without APO; also purges APO when used.
Connect via API key/token to manage browser cache, purge and APO.
Replaces YouTube embeds with lightweight preview images.
No video embed placeholder feature.
Paid FlyingCDN add-on: $10/domain/month incl. 100GB, Cloudflare Enterprise.
WPMU DEV asset CDN with Brotli; bandwidth allowance per plan.
Housekeeping3/31/3
Cleans and optimises database tables, with scheduled automation.
Database cleanup with optional scheduling.
Bloat setting throttles the Heartbeat API to once every 60 seconds.
No Heartbeat API control.
WP-CLI commands to purge and preload the cache.
No WP-CLI commands found in readme or developer docs.
Statuses: Yes Pro Add-on Partial 3rd-party No ?
Pricing compared
FlyingPress Premium
| Starter | $59 per year, 1 site |
|---|---|
| Pro | $109 per year, 3 sites |
| Business | $229 per year, 25 sites |
| Unlimited | $279 per year, Unlimited |
Hummingbird Freemium
| Free | $0 |
|---|---|
| Free | Free 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
FlyingPress
No WordPress.org download data (premium-only plugin).
Hummingbird
3,316 downloads last week
Verdict
FlyingPress scores higher on our feature checklist (97/100 against 86/100) and includes CDN integration, lazy-load video embeds and heartbeat control that Hummingbird does not. Hummingbird still has the edge on combine files. Only Hummingbird has a free version. Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.
Biggest differences
FlyingPress: included. Hummingbird: not included. CDN URL field can point assets at third-party CDNs such as Bunny.
FlyingPress: not included. Hummingbird: included. Combine option per asset in Asset Optimization.
FlyingPress: included. Hummingbird: not included. Replaces YouTube embeds with lightweight preview images.
FlyingPress: included. Hummingbird: not included. Bloat setting throttles the Heartbeat API to once every 60 seconds.
Written from the feature, pricing and install data on this page, not from hands-on testing. How we compare.
Which would you choose?
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FAQ
Which is better, FlyingPress or Hummingbird?
FlyingPress scores higher on our feature checklist (97/100 against 86/100) and includes CDN integration, lazy-load video embeds and heartbeat control that Hummingbird does not. Hummingbird still has the edge on combine files. Only Hummingbird has a free version. Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.
Which has more features?
FlyingPress includes 24 of the 25 features we track, against 21 for Hummingbird. Feature count is only part of the picture; check which of the differences matter to you.
Is FlyingPress free?
FlyingPress is premium only. Paid plans start at $59/yr.
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 FlyingPress or Hummingbird. Some links are affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no cost to you; it never affects our data or rankings.