FlyingPress vs W3 Total Cache
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.
Host-agnostic caching framework with page, object, database and browser caching, minify and CDN tools; BoldGrid sells a Pro upgrade.
Choose FlyingPress if…
- You need lazy-load video embeds and included CDN service
- You also want database cleanup and heartbeat control
- You want the more complete feature set (97/100 vs 85/100)
- You want the lower entry price ($59/yr vs $99/yr)
Choose W3 Total Cache if…
- You need combine files
- You want to start with a free version
- You prefer the more widely used option
FlyingPress includes 4 features that W3 Total Cache lacks, including Lazy-load video embeds, Included CDN service and Database cleanup; W3 Total Cache has 1 that FlyingPress lacks, including Combine files. Both include 20 of the 25 features we track.
At a glance
Feature comparison
Click a screenshot to see both plugins side by side.
FlyingPress W3 Total CacheCaching8/88/8
Generates static HTML pages served directly by the web server.
Page cache to disk (basic or enhanced) or to Redis, Memcached, APCu and others.
Sets long cache headers for static files on Apache/LiteSpeed; Nginx manual.
Cache-control, expires headers and ETags with cache-busting.
Preloads pages automatically and re-preloads related URLs after edits.
Page cache can be primed from a sitemap on a schedule, including a one-pass mode.
Built-in Redis object cache; needs a Redis server and phpredis extension.
Object and database caching in memory (Redis, Memcached, APCu) or on disk.
Optional separate cache and optimisations for mobile visitors.
User-agent and referrer groups keep separate caches, with optional theme switching.
Cart, checkout and My Account are excluded from cache automatically.
Honours WooCommerce's DONOTCACHEPAGE signal on cart/checkout/account; no Woo-specific panel.
Supports Apache, Nginx, LiteSpeed and OpenLiteSpeed on shared, VPS or managed hosts.
Built to be host-agnostic: shared hosting, VPS, dedicated and clusters.
Multisite supported; activate per subsite, one licence covers all.
Supports WordPress networks, including network-admin configuration.
CSS & JavaScript6/77/7
Minifies CSS and JavaScript on the server or via FlyingCDN.
Minify CSS, JS and HTML, including inline and third-party assets.
Does not combine CSS/JS files; only Google Fonts requests are combined.
Minify module groups and combines CSS/JS files, with template-based grouping.
Defers scripts and can delay all or selected JS until interaction.
Free non-blocking/deferred JS embedding; Delay Scripts requires Pro.
Cloud optimiser extracts used CSS and loads the rest on idle.
Remove CSS/JS unloads chosen files on chosen pages (manual rules, not automatic).
Inlines the generated used CSS in the page head for first render.
Pro's Eliminate Render-Blocking CSS inlines minified CSS; no true critical CSS generation.
Self-hosts Google Fonts, preloads fonts and can show system fonts first.
Only font preloading via Preload Requests; no Google Fonts localisation.
Preloads critical images/fonts with priority hints and prefetches links on hover.
Preload Requests adds DNS prefetch, preconnect and preload of fonts, CSS, JS and images.
Media & delivery7/75/7
Lazy loads images, videos, iframes and HTML elements.
Lazy loads images and background images; Google Maps lazy load is Pro.
Built-in lossy or lossless image compression (added in v5.3).
Image Converter changes format via BoldGrid API; no separate compression of originals.
Converts images to WebP or AVIF, or keeps the original format.
Free WebP conversion capped at 100/month; AVIF and unlimited conversions in Pro.
CDN URL field can point assets at third-party CDNs such as Bunny.
Rewrites media, theme and core files to many CDNs incl. Bunny, CloudFront, Azure.
Cloudflare full-page caching without APO; also purges APO when used.
Free bundled Cloudflare extension for API purging and settings.
Replaces YouTube embeds with lightweight preview images.
Lazy load handles images and backgrounds only; no YouTube facade.
Paid FlyingCDN add-on: $10/domain/month incl. 100GB, Cloudflare Enterprise.
No vendor-run CDN; partners with Bunny CDN, which needs its own account.
Housekeeping3/31/3
Cleans and optimises database tables, with scheduled automation.
Offers database query caching, but no cleanup of revisions or transients.
Bloat setting throttles the Heartbeat API to once every 60 seconds.
No Heartbeat API control among its modules.
WP-CLI commands to purge and preload the cache.
WP-CLI commands for cache purging, query-string updates and more.
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 |
W3 Total Cache Freemium
| Free | $0 |
|---|---|
| Free | Free lifetime, Unlimited |
| Pro - 1 Site | $99 per year, 1 site |
| Pro - 5 Sites | $350 per year, 5 sites |
| Pro - 10 Sites | $500 per year, 10 sites |
Downloads trend
FlyingPress
No WordPress.org download data (premium-only plugin).
W3 Total Cache
116,836 downloads last week
Verdict
FlyingPress scores higher on our feature checklist (97/100 against 85/100) and includes lazy-load video embeds, included CDN service and database cleanup that W3 Total Cache does not. W3 Total Cache still has the edge on combine files. Only W3 Total Cache has a free version. Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.
Biggest differences
FlyingPress: not included. W3 Total Cache: included. Minify module groups and combines CSS/JS files, with template-based grouping.
FlyingPress: included. W3 Total Cache: not included. Replaces YouTube embeds with lightweight preview images.
FlyingPress: via add-on. W3 Total Cache: not included. Paid FlyingCDN add-on: $10/domain/month incl. 100GB, Cloudflare Enterprise.
FlyingPress: included. W3 Total Cache: not included. Cleans and optimises database tables, with scheduled automation.
FlyingPress: included. W3 Total Cache: 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.
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FAQ
Which is better, FlyingPress or W3 Total Cache?
FlyingPress scores higher on our feature checklist (97/100 against 85/100) and includes lazy-load video embeds, included CDN service and database cleanup that W3 Total Cache does not. W3 Total Cache still has the edge on combine files. Only W3 Total Cache 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 W3 Total Cache. 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 W3 Total Cache free?
W3 Total Cache has a free version on WordPress.org. Paid plans start at $99/yr.
Feature data last changed 5 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit to FlyingPress or W3 Total Cache. Some links are affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no cost to you; it never affects our data or rankings.