Performance optimization plugins (WP Rocket, LiteSpeed Cache, Autoptimize) and the Core Web Vitals
WP Rocket (30.2%), LiteSpeed Cache (27.0%), Autoptimize (23.7%), WP Fastest Cache (13.0%), Cloudflare APO (6.5%), W3 Total Cache (1.9%), FlyingPress (1.2%), and NitroPack (1.1%) across 18,572 sites.
13.0% of sites use WP Fastest Cache performance optimization plugins, and 66% of those sites pass all three Core Web Vitals, against 68% of all sites.
13.0% of sites use WP Fastest Cache performance optimization plugins, and 83% of those sites have a good LCP, against 86% of all sites.
23.7% of sites use Autoptimize performance optimization plugins, and 100% of those sites have a good INP, against 99% of all sites.
1.9% of sites use W3 Total Cache performance optimization plugins, and 79% of those sites have a good CLS, against 78% of all sites.
Core Web Vitals pass rate
Sites with WP Fastest Cache performance optimization plugins pass all three Core Web Vitals most often: 66%, against 68% of all sites.
Sites with WP Fastest Cache performance optimization plugins have a good LCP most often: 83%, against 86% of all sites. Sites with Cloudflare APO optimization plugins have it least often, at 72%.
Sites with Autoptimize performance optimization plugins have a good INP most often: 100%, against 99% of all sites. Sites with Cloudflare APO optimization plugins have it least often, at 99%.
Sites with W3 Total Cache performance optimization plugins have a good CLS most often: 79%, against 78% of all sites. Sites with Cloudflare APO optimization plugins have it least often, at 75%.
Performance optimization plugins usage
WP Rocket is the most used: 30.2% of sites. WP Fastest Cache is 13.0% of sites.
Where optimization plugins save time: the four LCP phases
Across the four LCP sub-parts in Chrome's field data, the largest gap between WP Fastest Cache and Cloudflare APO sits in time to first byte (TTFB): 752 ms median for WP Fastest Cache against 984 ms for Cloudflare APO. Overall median field LCP is 1.6s for WP Fastest Cache (TTFB 752 ms, load delay 308 ms, load duration 124 ms, render delay 212 ms) versus 1.8s for Cloudflare APO.
Across the four LCP sub-parts in Chrome's field data, the largest gap between WP Fastest Cache and Cloudflare APO sits in time to first byte (TTFB): 752 ms median for WP Fastest Cache against 984 ms for Cloudflare APO. Overall median field LCP is 1.6s for WP Fastest Cache (TTFB 752 ms, load delay 308 ms, load duration 124 ms, render delay 212 ms) versus 1.8s for Cloudflare APO.
Across the four LCP sub-parts in Chrome's field data, the largest gap between WP Fastest Cache and Cloudflare APO sits in time to first byte (TTFB): 752 ms median for WP Fastest Cache against 984 ms for Cloudflare APO. Overall median field LCP is 1.6s for WP Fastest Cache (TTFB 752 ms, load delay 308 ms, load duration 124 ms, render delay 212 ms) versus 1.8s for Cloudflare APO.
Across the four LCP sub-parts in Chrome's field data, the largest gap between WP Fastest Cache and Cloudflare APO sits in time to first byte (TTFB): 752 ms median for WP Fastest Cache against 984 ms for Cloudflare APO. Overall median field LCP is 1.6s for WP Fastest Cache (TTFB 752 ms, load delay 308 ms, load duration 124 ms, render delay 212 ms) versus 1.8s for Cloudflare APO.
How performance optimization plugins plays out per platform
What the field data shows when you isolate a single CMS or framework.
Shopify 3 stores 3 Shopify stores show standalone optimization signatures (83% CWV pass rate).
Across the dataset, 3 Shopify storefronts have a detected standalone optimization plugin signature, with 83% passing all three Core Web Vitals.
React & Next.js 618 sites On the 618 WordPress + React sites using caching plugins, LiteSpeed Cache (25.9%) passes all three CWV at 44% and WP Rocket (34.8%) at 62%.
Across 618 React sites with a detected WordPress optimization plugin, 34.8% use WP Rocket (62% passing all three CWV), 25.9% use LiteSpeed Cache (44%), and 21.4% use Autoptimize (55%).
By Arjen Karel · 210,902 crawled sites (69,745 with desktop Chrome field data, 18,572 sites with performance optimization plugins, October 2026). How we measured.