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Hummingbird vs LiteSpeed Cache

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

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
UpdatedNov 2026
Visit site Full profile
VS

LiteSpeed Cache

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 (2,778)

Free server-level cache and optimisation suite from LiteSpeed Technologies; full-page caching needs a LiteSpeed web server or QUIC.cloud CDN.

Free installs7M+
FromFree
UpdatedOct 2026
Visit site Full profile

Choose Hummingbird if…

  • Site owners wanting a strong free cache with Cloudflare tools, and WPMU DEV members who get Pro features bundled

Choose LiteSpeed Cache if…

  • You need CDN integration and heartbeat control
  • You want the more complete feature set (94/100 vs 86/100)
  • You prefer the more widely used option

LiteSpeed Cache has 2 that Hummingbird lacks, including CDN integration and Heartbeat control. Both include 21 of the 25 features we track. 1 feature is not yet verified for one or both plugins.

At a glance

Hummingbird
LiteSpeed Cache
86/100
Feature score
94/100
21 of 25
Features included
24 of 25
4.7/5
WordPress.org rating
4.8/5
70K+
Active installs
7M+
100%
Support threads resolved
48%

Feature comparison

Click a screenshot to see both plugins side by side.

Feature
Hummingbird
LiteSpeed Cache
Caching8/88/8
Page caching KeyServes pre-built HTML pages.
Hummingbird Included

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

LiteSpeed Cache Included

Free full-page cache, but only on LiteSpeed/OpenLiteSpeed servers or via QUIC.cloud CDN.

Browser caching rulesSets cache headers for static files.
Hummingbird Included

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

LiteSpeed Cache Included

Browser cache rules for static files work on any server.

Cache preloadingBuilds the cache before visitors arrive.
Hummingbird Included

Preload caching option builds cached files automatically.

LiteSpeed Cache Included

Sitemap-driven crawler warms the cache; requires a LiteSpeed server.

Object cacheRedis or Memcached object caching.
Hummingbird Included

Redis integration for object caching when Redis is available.

LiteSpeed Cache Included

Connects to Memcached, LSMCD or Redis for object caching.

Separate mobile cacheDifferent cache for mobile devices.
Hummingbird Included

Cache on mobile devices option, on by default.

LiteSpeed Cache Included

Separate desktop and mobile cache variations on LiteSpeed servers.

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

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

LiteSpeed Cache Included

Cart, Checkout and My Account pages are excluded from cache by default.

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

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

LiteSpeed Cache Partial

Optimisation tools run anywhere; page cache needs LiteSpeed server or QUIC.cloud CDN.

Multisite supportWorks on WordPress multisite networks.
Hummingbird Included

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

LiteSpeed Cache Included

Supports multisite networks with network-level settings.

CSS & JavaScript7/77/7
Minify CSS & JSStrips whitespace from CSS and JavaScript.
Hummingbird Included

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

LiteSpeed Cache Included

Minifies CSS, JS and HTML, including inline code.

Combine filesMerges CSS/JS files.
Hummingbird Included

Combine option per asset in Asset Optimization.

LiteSpeed Cache Included

CSS Combine and JS Combine, optionally including external and inline code.

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

Defer free; Delay JavaScript until interaction needs Pro.

LiteSpeed Cache Included

Load JS Deferred with a Deferred or Delayed mode and exclusion lists.

Remove unused CSS KeyGenerates only the CSS each page uses.
Hummingbird Paid version Pro

Full-page critical CSS mode can remove unused CSS.

LiteSpeed Cache Included

Generate UCSS creates per-page used CSS via QUIC.cloud (free quota).

Critical CSSInlines above-the-fold CSS.
Hummingbird Paid version Pro

Automatic critical CSS generation, incl. separate mobile CSS.

LiteSpeed Cache Included

Load CSS Asynchronously generates critical CSS via QUIC.cloud.

Font optimisationSelf-hosts or preloads web fonts.
Hummingbird Included

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

LiteSpeed Cache Included

Font-display swap, async Google Fonts loading or removing Google Fonts.

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

Preconnect, DNS prefetch and preload key requests.

LiteSpeed Cache Partial

DNS prefetch and DNS preconnect lists; no general resource preload setting.

Media & delivery5/76/7
Lazy loadingDefers off-screen images and iframes.
Hummingbird Via add-on

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

LiteSpeed Cache Included

Lazy loads images and iframes with placeholders, LQIP and exclusions.

Image compressionCompresses uploaded images.
Hummingbird Via add-on

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

LiteSpeed Cache Included

Lossless/lossy compression processed by QUIC.cloud within a free monthly quota.

WebP / AVIF deliveryServes next-gen image formats.
Hummingbird Via add-on

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

LiteSpeed Cache Included

QUIC.cloud image service can generate and serve WebP and AVIF versions.

CDN integrationRewrites asset URLs to a CDN.
Hummingbird Not included

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

LiteSpeed Cache Included

Multiple CDN mapping to rewrite static asset URLs.

Cloudflare integrationPurges or configures Cloudflare.
Hummingbird Included

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

LiteSpeed Cache Included

Cloudflare API settings for purging and development mode.

Lazy-load video embedsReplace YouTube and Vimeo embeds with a lightweight preview.
Hummingbird Not included

No video embed placeholder feature.

LiteSpeed Cache Not included

Iframes can be lazy loaded, but there is no YouTube thumbnail facade option.

Included CDN serviceA CDN is part of the product or plan, not just URL rewriting.
Hummingbird Paid version Pro Basic

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

LiteSpeed Cache Included

QUIC.cloud CDN from the same vendor has a free plan; paid usage-based tier for more PoPs.

Housekeeping1/33/3
Database cleanupRemoves revisions, transients and spam.
Hummingbird Included

Database cleanup with optional scheduling.

LiteSpeed Cache Included

Database cleaner removes revisions, drafts, spam, transients and optimises tables.

Heartbeat controlLimits the WordPress Heartbeat API.
Hummingbird Not included

No Heartbeat API control.

LiteSpeed Cache Included

Toolbox controls Heartbeat on frontend, backend and editor separately.

WP-CLI commandsClear or warm the cache from the command line.
Hummingbird Not verified

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

LiteSpeed Cache Included

wp litespeed-database commands clean posts, comments, transients and optimise tables.

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

Pricing compared

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

LiteSpeed Cache Free

Free$0
LiteSpeed Cache pluginFree lifetime, Unlimited
QUIC.cloud FreeFree per month, 1 site

Downloads trend

Hummingbird

3,072 downloads last week

LiteSpeed Cache

350,203 downloads last week

Verdict

Based on our feature data Checked 5 Oct 2026

LiteSpeed Cache scores higher on our feature checklist (94/100 against 86/100) and includes CDN integration and heartbeat control that Hummingbird does not. Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.

Biggest differences

CDN integration

Hummingbird: not included. LiteSpeed Cache: included. Multiple CDN mapping to rewrite static asset URLs.

Heartbeat control

Hummingbird: not included. LiteSpeed Cache: included. Toolbox controls Heartbeat on frontend, backend and editor separately.

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, Hummingbird or LiteSpeed Cache?

LiteSpeed Cache scores higher on our feature checklist (94/100 against 86/100) and includes CDN integration and heartbeat control that Hummingbird does not. Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.

Which has more features?

LiteSpeed Cache 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 Hummingbird free?

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

Is LiteSpeed Cache free?

LiteSpeed Cache has a free version on WordPress.org.

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