W3 Total Cache vs WP Fastest Cache
Both are free plugins on WordPress.org, and both refund paid licenses within 30 days. WP Fastest Cache Premium is a one-time payment, $49 for one site (checked Oct 26, 2026), with lifetime updates and support, and adds image optimization with 10,000 image credits, WebP, lazy load and database cleanup. W3 Total Cache Pro is $99 a year for one site, billed yearly (checked Oct 26, 2026), and adds full site delivery from a CDN, delay scripts and unlimited WebP conversions. Over two years that is $49 against $198. Choose WP Fastest Cache to pay once, and W3 Total Cache if you serve your site through a CDN.
Updated Oct 26, 2026 by Jean Luc.
Side by side
| W3 Total Cache | WP Fastest Cache | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $8.25/mo Monthly equivalent of a yearly plan. Checked Nov 4, 2026. | From $49 one-time for one site A one-time payment for a lifetime license, with no monthly or yearly plan. Checked Nov 4, 2026. |
| Free plan or trial | Free plan | Free plan |
| Works with | WordPress | WordPress, WooCommerce |
| Best for | Solo owner, Small agency | Solo owner, WooCommerce store |
| Monthly billing | Yearly only | Yearly only |
| Billed | By the vendor directly | By the vendor directly |
| Store rating | 4.4 on WordPress.org, 5,420 ratings, checked Oct 26, 2026 | 4.9 on WordPress.org, 4,227 ratings, checked Oct 26, 2026 |
| Testing | Researched | Researched |
| Last verified | Oct 26, 2026 | Oct 26, 2026 |
Features we checked
| W3 Total Cache | WP Fastest Cache | |
|---|---|---|
| Image compression | PartlyConverts images to WebP on BoldGrid's servers; the free plugin is limited to 10 conversions an hour and 100 a month, Pro to 10,000 an hour with no monthly limit | PartlyPremium only. Compresses Media Library images and makes WebP copies, using 1 of the 10,000 image credits that come with each license per image |
| Speed optimization | YesPage, database, object and browser caching, minify, lazy load images and CDN support in the free plugin; Pro adds full site delivery from a CDN, fragment and REST API caching, delay scripts, preload requests, remove CSS/JS and render-blocking CSS removal | YesPage cache, minify HTML and CSS, combine CSS and JS, Gzip and browser caching in the free plugin; Premium adds mobile and widget cache, minify JS, render-blocking and delay JS, lazy load, Google Fonts async and database cleanup |
Each tool’s page gives the source and the day of every check.
Plans
W3 Total Cache
- 1 Site License: not offered monthly, or $8.25 a month billed yearly
- 5 Site Licenses: not offered monthly, or $29.17 a month billed yearly
- 10 Site Licenses: not offered monthly, or $41.67 a month billed yearly
- Bulk Licenses: price not published
WP Fastest Cache
Plans not structured yet. From $49 one-time for one site, a one-time payment for a lifetime license, with no monthly or yearly plan.
Which to choose
Pick W3 Total Cache if
- you want database and object caching without paying: the free plugin includes both, with page and browser caching.
- you serve your site through a CDN: Pro adds full site delivery from a CDN.
Pick WP Fastest Cache if
- you'd rather pay once: Premium is $49 one-time for one site.
- you want image compression in your cache plugin: Premium includes 10,000 image credits per license and makes WebP copies.
More on these tools
Sources
- W3 Total Cache: https://www.boldgrid.com/terms-of-service-es/ (Oct 26, 2026)
- W3 Total Cache: https://www.boldgrid.com/w3-total-cache/ (Oct 26, 2026)
- W3 Total Cache: https://wordpress.org/plugins/w3-total-cache/ (Oct 26, 2026)
- WP Fastest Cache: https://www.wpfastestcache.com/ (Oct 26, 2026)
- WP Fastest Cache: https://www.wpfastestcache.com/faq/ (Oct 26, 2026)
- WP Fastest Cache: https://www.wpfastestcache.com/refund-policy/ (Oct 26, 2026)
- WP Fastest Cache: https://www.wpfastestcache.com/download-the-premium/ (Oct 26, 2026)
- WP Fastest Cache: https://www.wpfastestcache.com/download-the-premium/multi-license/ (Oct 26, 2026)
- WP Fastest Cache: https://www.wpfastestcache.com/transfer-license/ (Oct 26, 2026)
- WP Fastest Cache: https://www.wpfastestcache.com/premium/image-optimization/ (Oct 26, 2026)
- WP Fastest Cache: https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-fastest-cache/ (Oct 26, 2026)