LiteSpeed Cache
by LiteSpeed Technologies
Server-level caching and image optimisation, free on LiteSpeed hosts.
This link may earn us a commission. It does not affect the score. Last tested 1 September 2026.
Measured result
LiteSpeed Cache on bench-01
Performance score
Measured on a 2 vCPU reference host
- LCP
- 1.31 s
- CLS
- 0.02
- TTFB
- 141 ms
- Page
- 588 KB
- Requests
- 31
- Impact
- Light
Median of 3 cold-cache runs, 1 September 2026.
How we tested
Pros & cons
- Server-level cache is faster than any PHP-based alternative
- Bundled image optimisation and CDN quota at no cost
- Granular crawler and ESI support for logged-in pages
- Full benefit requires LiteSpeed or OpenLiteSpeed hosting
- The settings screen is genuinely intimidating
- Some optimisation features queue against a shared remote service
The full review
On matching LiteSpeed hosting, this plugin produces the lowest time to first byte we record - 141 ms against 182 ms for the closest PHP-cached competitor - because the cache is served by the web server rather than by WordPress.
Away from that hosting, the picture changes. The page cache falls back to a PHP implementation and the advantage largely disappears, though image optimisation and the CDN quota remain useful.
Treat the settings screen as a staged project: enable caching, measure, then add one optimisation group at a time.
Compared with close alternatives
| Plugin | Score | LCP | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| LiteSpeed Cache | 91 | 1.31 s | Free |
| WP Rocket | 94 | 1.24 s | $59/yr |
| Cache Enabler | 82 | 1.72 s | Free |
Frequently asked
Is it worth installing on Apache or Nginx?
Only for the optimisation and image features. The headline caching advantage needs a LiteSpeed-family web server.
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