Jetpack Boost vs W3 Total Cache
Updated 5 Oct 2026. 25 features compared side by side.
Automattic's one-click speed plugin: page cache, critical CSS, deferred JS, concatenation and an image CDN. Paid tier automates critical CSS.
Host-agnostic caching framework with page, object, database and browser caching, minify and CDN tools; BoldGrid sells a Pro upgrade.
Choose Jetpack Boost if…
- You need included CDN service
- You weigh user ratings (4.7 vs 4.4 on WordPress.org)
Choose W3 Total Cache if…
- You need remove unused CSS and browser caching rules
- You also want cache preloading and object cache
- You want the more complete feature set (85/100 vs 49/100)
- You want the lower entry price ($99/yr vs $239.40/yr)
Jetpack Boost includes 1 feature that W3 Total Cache lacks, including Included CDN service; W3 Total Cache has 9 that Jetpack Boost lacks, including Browser caching rules, Cache preloading and Object cache. Both include 11 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.
Jetpack Boost W3 Total CacheCaching3/88/8
Disk-based static page cache for logged-out visitors.
Page cache to disk (basic or enhanced) or to Redis, Memcached, APCu and others.
Does not manage browser cache headers.
Cache-control, expires headers and ETags with cache-busting.
No cache preloading; pages cache on first visit.
Page cache can be primed from a sitemap on a schedule, including a one-pass mode.
No Redis/Memcached integration.
Object and database caching in memory (Redis, Memcached, APCu) or on disk.
No separate mobile cache.
User-agent and referrer groups keep separate caches, with optional theme switching.
Honours DONOTCACHEPAGE, which WooCommerce sets on cart/checkout; URL exclusions too.
Honours WooCommerce's DONOTCACHEPAGE signal on cart/checkout/account; no Woo-specific panel.
Works on most hosts; cache toggle hidden where the host runs its own page cache.
Built to be host-agnostic: shared hosting, VPS, dedicated and clusters.
No documentation found on multisite network support.
Supports WordPress networks, including network-admin configuration.
CSS & JavaScript5/77/7
Concatenate and minify CSS and JS modules.
Minify CSS, JS and HTML, including inline and third-party assets.
Concatenates JS and CSS files to reduce requests.
Minify module groups and combines CSS/JS files, with template-based grouping.
Defers non-essential JavaScript until after load.
Free non-blocking/deferred JS embedding; Delay Scripts requires Pro.
No unused CSS removal.
Remove CSS/JS unloads chosen files on chosen pages (manual rules, not automatic).
Manual generation free; automatic regeneration on paid plan.
Pro's Eliminate Render-Blocking CSS inlines minified CSS; no true critical CSS generation.
No font optimisation module.
Only font preloading via Preload Requests; no Google Fonts localisation.
Prerenders Cornerstone Pages and optimises LCP images; no manual hint controls.
Preload Requests adds DNS prefetch, preconnect and preload of fonts, CSS, JS and images.
Media & delivery3/75/7
Lazy-load module deprecated; relies on WordPress native lazy loading.
Lazy loads images and background images; Google Maps lazy load is Pro.
Image CDN resizes and compresses images; quality controls on paid plan.
Image Converter changes format via BoldGrid API; no separate compression of originals.
Image CDN serves modern formats such as WebP.
Free WebP conversion capped at 100/month; AVIF and unlimited conversions in Pro.
No option to rewrite assets to a third-party CDN.
Rewrites media, theme and core files to many CDNs incl. Bunny, CloudFront, Azure.
No Cloudflare integration.
Free bundled Cloudflare extension for API purging and settings.
No video embed placeholder feature.
Lazy load handles images and backgrounds only; no YouTube facade.
Jetpack-run Image CDN for images only, free.
No vendor-run CDN; partners with Bunny CDN, which needs its own account.
Housekeeping1/31/3
No database cleanup.
Offers database query caching, but no cleanup of revisions or transients.
No Heartbeat control.
No Heartbeat API control among its modules.
wp jetpack-boost commands to toggle modules and manage connection.
WP-CLI commands for cache purging, query-string updates and more.
Statuses: Yes Pro Add-on Partial 3rd-party No ?
Pricing compared
Jetpack Boost Freemium
| Free | $0 |
|---|---|
| Free | Free per year, Unlimited |
| Boost | $239.40 per year, 1 site |
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
Jetpack Boost
19,040 downloads last week
W3 Total Cache
116,836 downloads last week
Verdict
W3 Total Cache scores higher on our feature checklist (85/100 against 49/100) and includes remove unused CSS, browser caching rules and cache preloading that Jetpack Boost does not. Jetpack Boost still has the edge on included CDN service. Paid plans start at $239.40/yr for Jetpack Boost and $99/yr for W3 Total Cache. Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.
Biggest differences
Jetpack Boost: not included. W3 Total Cache: paid version (Pro). Remove CSS/JS unloads chosen files on chosen pages (manual rules, not automatic).
Jetpack Boost: not included. W3 Total Cache: included. Cache-control, expires headers and ETags with cache-busting.
Jetpack Boost: not included. W3 Total Cache: included. Page cache can be primed from a sitemap on a schedule, including a one-pass mode.
Jetpack Boost: not included. W3 Total Cache: included. Object and database caching in memory (Redis, Memcached, APCu) or on disk.
Jetpack Boost: not included. W3 Total Cache: included. Lazy loads images and background images; Google Maps lazy load is Pro.
Jetpack Boost: not included. W3 Total Cache: included. Rewrites media, theme and core files to many CDNs incl. Bunny, CloudFront, Azure.
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, Jetpack Boost or W3 Total Cache?
W3 Total Cache scores higher on our feature checklist (85/100 against 49/100) and includes remove unused CSS, browser caching rules and cache preloading that Jetpack Boost does not. Jetpack Boost still has the edge on included CDN service. Paid plans start at $239.40/yr for Jetpack Boost and $99/yr for W3 Total Cache. Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.
Which has more features?
W3 Total Cache includes 21 of the 25 features we track, against 12 for Jetpack Boost. Feature count is only part of the picture; check which of the differences matter to you.
Is Jetpack Boost free?
Jetpack Boost has a free version on WordPress.org. Paid plans start at $239.40/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 Jetpack Boost 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.