WP Super Cache vs W3 Total Cache, Which is better ?

Marc0

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Hi everyone,

WP Super Cache vs W3 Total Cache, Which is better ?
I used both on some Wordpress websites but I don't know which is more advantages and why ?

Can you suggest me ?
Thanks
 

jdunhin

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WP Super Cache update more than W3 Total Cache. But it depends what your hosting provider prefer. I know most providers give the settings for the cache plugins.

I personally like W3 Total Cache but my host gave me settings for WP Super Cache.
 

GswHosting

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Old never ending discussion Which is better WP Super Cache or W3 Total Cache.

Personally I use W3TC had work long and know how to configure it. Some prefer WP super cache.

I think it is just personal opinion and habit.

My vote is to W3 Total Cache
 

Wesley

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I heard more about two caching solutions but not tried yet.

I think Cloudflare and optimize your server are one of best methods to speed up your Wordpress website.
 

Gecko

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I have used both of these plugins and was mainly using W3TC but it started having issues with some other plugins not working right so I stopped using it.

I found one that is a lot faster and works better called WP Rocket and that's what I use now.
 

GswHosting

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I heard more about two caching solutions but not tried yet.

I think Cloudflare and optimize your server are one of best methods to speed up your Wordpress website.
On shared hosting Cloudflare can help but there is no server optimization.
So you need caching plugins.

I have used both of these plugins and was mainly using W3TC but it started having issues with some other plugins not working right so I stopped using it.

I found one that is a lot faster and works better called WP Rocket and that's what I use now.
You are right WP Rocket is great plugin but it is premium plugin. WP super cache and w3tc are free ones.
 

Gecko

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Gecko
Yeah it's paid and I was trying to find another free plugin that did a good job or better than W3TC but all the free ones I tried were slower. Since the W3TC wasn't working with my sites I had no choice but to look at the paid ones and WP Rocket is rated as the fastest and best cache plugin so I decided to go ahead and buy it.

I was hoping for a free option because the site that I was buying it for was something I was testing and not sure I would keep but I went ahead and took a chance. When I bought it I was more picky about getting every ounce of speed out of my sites so I didn't mind the cost. Now, I would just use a free one because they are only a little slower in the real world.
 

GswHosting

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I know what are you talking about, I have some issue with my theme and W3TC. Thing is that css and js can't be minify or some of them can, don't have much time to find out.
Option is to put minify on manual settings and then click on help to list all css and JavaScript then include one buy one and see results.
 

Gecko

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I tried 3 different themes then gave up and just bought the plugin. I probably should have tried more themes or even a default Wordpress theme to see if it did the same thing.

I tried Chromatic, ColorMag and I can't remember the other theme. I just wasn't feeling patient that day to keep trying more. I should have tried more or something else and I would have saved money.
 

WPCycle

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Another revived thread, LOL. This is actually a good thing when you think about it.

On to the topic...there's no exact answer to this...especially since this was asked 4 years ago, and plugins change within that time.

One key factor in using a cache plugin is the hosts environment. What OS is the host using? What resources are available to customers for the plugin to utilize?

Many cache plugins have been a hit or miss for many, but if it's not configured properly...you then run the risk of making the website load slower or breaking. Minifying css and js is a true challenge.
 

Alexandar

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I just wanted to give my 2 cents on this one as well.

There has been a lot of fandom discussion between these two so it all comes down to - what do you want to get out of a caching plugin solution.

You can always break it down to pros and cons of each plugin but at this point those are all general and may or may not concern you:

- both are easy to implement the CDN with ( though both fail to do the url rewrite if your server is running with PHP 7+
- both are widely used so any issues can be addressed reasonably fast.
- W3TC has a great page cache feature that can address latency issues pretty well, but it's minify solution is known for breaking a lot of themes out there so be careful with it.
- W3TC comes with premium version ( which offers fragment caching) but general opinion is that it doesn't really change much when it comes to the end user experience (and in the bottom line that is what most people are striving for).
- W3TC rarely updates which can be something that you might find interesting.
- W3TC does provide with a much more robust solution which allows for a more custom experience if you're looking for one - but it also works pretty well out of the box.
- WPSC provides solid results and is more resource friendly then W3TC
- It's url rewrite engine is based on CDN Linker which is regex based so if you're looking to run a CDN with it. However, both WPSC and W3TC fail to rewrite urls with PHP 7+ which is something that is looking to be patched soon (but knowing the release schedule for W3TC is not as likely)
- Both allow you to drop the cache fairly easy which is a good thing - any changes that you make and are looking to have applied right away will be addressed.
- WPSC does not provide with API linking solution ( W3TC does) which you can use to link your CDN account with your plugin and purge the CDN cache from the plugin - which can be a useful feature if you're looking to have everyting in one place and not have to login into multiple different panels in order for your changes to apply.

So, with this being said - it's all up to what you're looking to get. If it's speed and optimization the answer is simple: install one of these, configure it to your preference and run a speed test ( pingdom is a good reference tool) and take a note of the speed increase, and the various grades that you are looking to improve. Run a top on your server and check the resource utilization and see if the server is in good shape. Disable the plugin, install the other one - and repeat the process.

What works for me might not work for you and vice-versa. It would be awesome if you could share the test results with us - it would give us an insight in this endless dilemma.

Cheers!
 

gagah

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gagah
Tremendous answer, this. :) I mainly used WP Super Cache because it's supported fully by automattic and the wordpress team so i'm convinced they know what they're doing.
 

Alexandar

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Just a small note when it comes to full page caching through a plugin. This where your server resources come into play. So you need to be aware of the resources that you have on your hand when you wish to opt for this kind of a solution. With that being said - it's always better to uperhand it with a CDN on side that would do the actual full site caching and saving your resources for something else :)
 

Nigel

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When I have tried these for my wordpress sites I got better performance as far as load times by using WP Super Cache. I tried W3 Total Cache on a few different sites and it never performed better than WP Super Cache so I stopped using it.

Some people might get better results with one or another depending on how they have their site setup.
 

cloudean

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You need to take your web host server setup in account*
Is your web host server has configured cache?
ex. opcache, memcache, apcu

some wordpress cache plugins do not work well with specific combinations.
so, you need to check on that first*

Use most suitable option.
 

KelvinSmith

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In terms of popularity WTC is well ahead of WPC. Also, both of them are available for free but WTC also have a paid version which offers some benefits. I would advice the OP to go with WP Rocket, it's basically a paid plugin but is far ahead of it's competition.
 

Gh0st4unt3r

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Gh0st4unt3r
I have heard that WP Rocket is very good though i have never tried and tested it myself yet, i have used WTC and find the paid version does a great job, what additional features available in WP Rocket that you feel make it better than WTC, i may have a good look to see if its worth the investment on a clients site..
 

openhosting

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Have not tried the other mentioned plugins but W3TC works great on my wordpress site. So yeah, the obvious one sided answer. LOL.
 

hostproton

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Hello

This depends a lot on the technology with which you are working on the server. I would like to advise you to use the LiteSpeed Cache plugin for WordPress, but the server hosting the web will need to have LiteSpeed Web Server enabled plus LSCACHE. If you click on the image, you will be redirected to the official plugin website.




I would also like to recommend the use of a CDN and to play in the same sense that your server does in terms of optimization.


I want to tell you, if you use Apache, it would be a good idea to enable opcache or memcached. :rolleyes2:

 
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