I benchmarked 4,999 WordPress plugins for their exact speed impact. Here are the results.
The Setup
Each plugin was tested in a clean WordPress environment. Metrics captured:
- TTFB (Time to First Byte) impact
- Database queries added per page load
- Memory usage overhead
- HTTP requests added
No Lighthouse scores. No synthetic tests. Server-side measurement only.
The Big Findings
WooCommerce scored F
The most popular WordPress e-commerce plugin (5M+ active installs) is the heaviest plugin in the entire database. It adds 19 database queries to every single page load - not just product pages. Your blog post, your about page, your contact page - all taxed equally.
86% of plugins are fine
2,357 plugins scored A. Another 1,945 scored A-. That's 86% with negligible performance impact.
The popular advice of "fewer plugins = faster site" is wrong. It's not about count. It's about which plugins you install.
The 23x page builder gap
Elementor adds approximately 47ms to every page load. Beaver Builder adds 2ms. Same category, same purpose, 23x performance difference.
Contact Form 7 is invisible
0ms added load time. 0 extra database queries. 0 additional memory. If every plugin developer built like CF7, nobody would need performance optimization plugins.
Yoast SEO is surprisingly well-optimized
Despite being massive in scope, Yoast scores A. Credit where it's due.
Score Distribution
| Grade | Count | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| A | 2,357 | 47% |
| A- | 1,945 | 39% |
| B+ | 199 | 4% |
| B | 113 | 2% |
| B- | 150 | 3% |
| C+ | 67 | 1% |
| C | 51 | 1% |
| C- | 28 | 1% |
| D | 8 | 0.2% |
| F | 3 | 0.06% |
The F-Grade Plugins
Only 3 plugins out of 4,999 scored F:
- WooCommerce - 19 database queries per page load
- EditorsKit - Gutenberg block toolkit
- Cozy Blocks - Another Gutenberg toolkit
Notable Scores for Popular Plugins
| Plugin | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Yoast SEO | A | Well optimized despite scope |
| Wordfence Security | A- | Better than expected for a security plugin |
| Contact Form 7 | A | Zero measurable impact |
| Elementor | C- | Heavy page builder |
| Jetpack Boost | C | Ironic for a "speed" plugin |
| All in One SEO | C | Significant overhead |
| WooCommerce | F | 19 queries per page |
The Database
The full database is free to search at makewpfast.com. No signup, no paywall. Look up any of the 4,999 tested plugins before you install them.
Methodology
Each test runs on:
- Clean WordPress install (latest version)
- Default theme (Twenty Twenty-Four)
- PHP 8.3, MySQL 8.0
- Measured with SAVEQUERIES + server-side timing
- 5 page loads per test, averaged
- Scores are relative to baseline (clean WP with no plugins)
If you think the methodology could be improved, I'm genuinely interested in feedback.
I built this as part of MakeWPFast, a WordPress plugin performance database. I also maintain WP Multitool - a developer toolkit for WordPress performance optimization.
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