Speed Optimizer vs Speculative Loading
Compare WordPress plugins and tools side by side. Pick products with “Compare” in the software directory.
| Feature | Speed Optimizer v7.8.5 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free · ★ 4.2/5 Visit Details | Speculative Loading v1.7.0 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free · ★ 5.0/5 Visit Details |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Active installs | 1M+ | 70,000+ |
| Last updated | October 20, 2026 | August 26, 2026 |
| Editions | Speed Optimizer | Speculative Loading |
| Pros | Page caching, minification and lazy loading in one place; Browser cache headers and database cleanup; Free, from the WordPress.org directory | Near-instant page changes for visitors; Settings under Settings > Reading; Maintained by the WordPress Performance Team |
| Cons | Dynamic caching and Memcached are SiteGround-only; CDN premium tier depends on the hosting plan; Calls Google PageSpeed and Google Fonts services | Prerendering loads pages before the click, so page scripts may run early; Behaviour depends on browser support for the Speculation Rules API |
| Features (Speed Optimization plugins checklist) | ||
| Page cache | Yes | — |
| Browser cache | Yes | — |
| Minify CSS/JS | Yes | — |
| CDN | Paid | — |
| Object cache | Yes | — |
| Database cleanup | Yes | — |
| Free version | Yes | — |
| More features | ||
| Other features | Lazy loading of images, iframes and videos, Image optimisation, WebP image conversion, Force HTTPS, Heartbeat control, PageSpeed analysis | Speculation rules printed in the footer, Prefetch or prerender mode and eagerness settings, Exclude paths from speculation |
| Integrations | ||
| Analytics | Google PageSpeed Insights | — |
| Other | Google Fonts | — |
| Requires WordPress | 5.5.1 | 6.9 |
| Requires PHP | 7.0 | 7.4 |
| Tested up to | 7.1 | 7.1 |
| Phones home | No | No |
| External services | www.googleapis.com, fonts.googleapis.com, sgwpdemo.com, api.wordpress.org | — |