Comet Cache vs W3 Total Cache
Compare WordPress plugins and tools side by side. Pick products with “Compare” in the software directory.
| Feature | Comet Cache v170220 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free + paid · ★ 4.4/5 Visit Details | W3 Total Cache v2.11.0 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free + paid · ★ 4.4/5 Visit Details |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Active installs | 20,000+ | 900,000+ |
| Last updated | July 2, 2025 | October 20, 2026 |
| Editions | Comet Cache · Comet Cache Pro ($) | W3 Total Cache · W3 Total Cache Pro ($) |
| Pros | Free full-page cache for anonymous visitors; Cron-driven cleanup of cache files; Simple settings for browser caching of dynamic pages | Page, browser, object and CDN caching in one plugin; Minification of CSS and JavaScript; Works with many CDN providers in the free code |
| Cons | HTML and asset minification need Pro; CDN filters and Apache optimisations need Pro; Logged-in users are not cached in the free version | Large settings area that is easy to misconfigure; Some modules need external cache servers or CDN accounts; Pro upgrade notes appear in the free admin |
| Mentioned in our posts | 1 | 3 |
| Features (Speed Optimization plugins checklist) | ||
| Page cache | Yes | Yes |
| Browser cache | Yes | Yes |
| Minify CSS/JS | Paid | Yes |
| CDN | Paid | Yes |
| Object cache | No | Yes |
| Database cleanup | No | — |
| Free version | Yes | Yes |
| More features | ||
| Other features | Cron job that cleans up cache files, Excludes WooCommerce pages and clears on stock change, Cache logged-in users (Pro) ($), HTML Compressor for CSS, JS and HTML (Pro) ($), Static CDN filters and domain sharding (Pro) ($), Automatic updater for Pro ($) | Database query caching, Fragment caching for plugins and themes ($), Local usage statistics collection, Pro upgrade notes in the free admin ($), Pro licence check ($) |
| Integrations | ||
| Analytics | — | New Relic |
| Storage | — | BunnyCDN, Google Drive, Rackspace Cloud Files |
| E-commerce | WooCommerce | — |
| Plugins | bbPress | — |
| Requires WordPress | 4.2 | 6.0 |
| Requires PHP | — | 7.4 |
| Tested up to | 6.9-alpha-60398 | 7.1 |
| Phones home | No | Only if you agree |
| External services | — | api.bunny.net, identity.api.rackspacecloud.com, api.newrelic.com, closure-compiler.appspot.com, management.core.windows.net |