![\"Nitropack](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/nitropack-homepage-1024x477.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nNitropack is an excellent choice for website performance optimization, as long as you can afford it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nitropack takes care of standard and advanced web performance issues, like removing unused CSS or optimizing images seamlessly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you don\u2019t want to bother fixing your site manually, Nitropack is the best choice on the market. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In our experience, it was always a foolproof way to pass the Core Web Vitals test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Nitropack gets some bad press on the internet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And some of the problems people point out are true. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, the customer support they offer should be better considering the high price tag. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And they have a track record of outages. That\u2019s a big problem, especially for the big sites that tend to use Nitropack. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But we don\u2019t think it\u2019s blackhat SEO. It will have a positive impact on your site. And down the line, when you check Google Search Console, you\u2019ll be happy you gave the tool a shot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nitropack Pros and Cons<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Check this pros and cons list if you want a quick overview of Nitropack. However, keep in mind that there is a lot of nuance to NItropack\u2019s advantages and disadvantages. Make sure you read our entire Nitropack review if you want the whole picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pros<\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n- Good CDN<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Automatic optimization for HTML, CSS, and JS<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Comprehensive image optimization toolset<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Tons of minor tweaks to improve site speed and pass CWV. But you probably won\u2019t need them since Nitropack takes care of everything automatically<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Cons<\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n- Pretty lousy customer support for the price they charge<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Track record of outages<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Pretty expensive<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Potential incompatibilities with Javascript-heavy sites. But this is something we\u2019re reporting, not something we ran into ourselves<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
What Is Nitropack?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Nitropack is an all-in-one web performance and speed optimization tool. It\u2019s focused on helping users improve their site speed and pass the Core Web Vitals test. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Its most significant benefit is how easy it is to deploy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In most cases, you\u2019ll just need to install the plugin on your site, and you\u2019re done. With automatic HTML, CSS, and JS optimization, on top of their CDN and image optimization, you\u2019re guaranteed to get results in under 5 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Download](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/download-a-connector.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nAnd if you don\u2019t, Nitropack has dozens of features and tools to help you customize it and pass the Core Web Vitals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Performance and the Core Web Vitals metrics<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Some talk online about Nitropack being built for the Google Pagespeed Insights<\/a> test. Some even claim Nitropack tricks the site speed tool<\/a> instead of optimizing site performance. <\/p>\n\n\n\nWe\u2019ve been using Nitropack for a long while, and we don\u2019t think that\u2019s true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The sites we deployed it on performed well on the SERP long after Nitropack was installed. And even for this Nitropack review, we corroborated results from the Pagespeed Insights test with other Google-approved tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When running it, we do pass the core web vitals in the long run on the webmaster console.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Core](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/core-web-vitals-mobile-1024x735.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nAnd Nitropack does help you pass the Core Web Vitals test. Let\u2019s see how they manage to do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nitropack features and tools<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Nitropack boasts dozens of unique features and minor tweaks you can use for website performance optimization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019ll analyze them all to see what they do automatically and what you can use them for if the initial deployment of Nitropack doesn\u2019t solve all of your site speed issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a quick overview, here\u2019s what you get as soon as you install the plugin on your site:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Nitropack](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/nitropack-active-features.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nThat\u2019s impressive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But you can do more. In the settings tab, you\u2019ll see all the additional options you get, like optimizing ads or excluding CSS files from minification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you need to be even more hands-on, you can set your Nitropack settings to \u201cManual.\u201d This will let you access the \u201cAdvanced Settings\u201d tab, where you\u2019ll find dozens of settings you can tweak to fit your site needs.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Nitropack](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/nitropack-optimization-mode.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nThis is also the only way to enable integration with Nitropack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nitropack Caching<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Nitropack caching is pretty straightforward. It optimizes the cache for the pages on your site loaded by users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And it does an outstanding job of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At any time, you can see the cache size on the Nitropack dashboard, and you can choose to purge the cache.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Nitropack](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/nitropack-caching-1024x538.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nCache warming is also a great option you should consider enabling in your Nitropack account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This makes Nitropack optimize pages even if users do not load them. But turning it on, or leaving it disabled as it is by default, is a choice you\u2019ll have to make based on your site\u2019s traffic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cache warming is an excellent option if you don\u2019t get uniform traffic to your pages and you\u2019re on an upward trend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it\u2019s not required if you already have consistent traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Comprehensive image optimization<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
When you install Nitropack, it automatically takes care of image optimization, compressing your media files, and adapting their size to the screen of your visitors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is a great feature to have, mainly since manual alternatives like WP Rocket<\/a> don\u2019t feature anything like it. It will help you solve issues like \u201cImages don\u2019t have width and height attributes\u201d and improve the score for LCP or FCP. <\/p>\n\n\n\nAnd there\u2019s more. For example, you can tweak the quality metric for images. The default \u201c80\u201d is good. That\u2019s the recommended Google setting.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Nitropack](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/nitropack-image-optimization-1024x292.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nBut it doesn\u2019t hurt to get more options based on what your audience wants.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Nitropack](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/nitropack-image-opimization-DOM-1024x538.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nLastly, you can also specify additional DOM resources for Nitropack to optimize. It\u2019s an excellent perk if you have issues with excessive DOM sizes on your WordPress site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
HTML Optimization<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
When you install Nitropack, it will automatically optimize your site\u2019s HTML. This isn\u2019t a huge or attractive perk. It\u2019s just covering the basics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do get additional options though. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most notably, you can minify JSON for linking data. It\u2019s a feature we haven\u2019t seen in many website performance optimization plugins. If you have issues with JSON, Nitropack can help.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Nitropack](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/nitropack-html-optimization-1024x235.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nMoreover, Nitropack does a great job at integrating with OptinMonster<\/a> our lead generation tool. A while back, it had problems with other pop-up software. <\/p>\n\n\n\nWe switched from OptinMonster on one of our older sites, and we started having performance issues. But as long as you\u2019re using OptinMonster, you should see good results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can also choose to keep HTML comments in the final cache of a page. But we don\u2019t recommend enabling this. HTML comments count as DOM resources so that they can take slow down your page<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CSS optimization<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
CSS optimization is one of the biggest perks when using Nitropack. It\u2019s automatically enabled, and it offers dozens of settings and tweaks to improve CSS. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And that\u2019s on top of doing a great job at minifying your site\u2019s CSS automatically. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For starters, you can write custom CSS rules. This means that if particular files or sections on your site cause a hassle, you can solve the problems manually by excluding it from optimization or treating it differently. <\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Nitropack](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/nitropack-css-optimization-1024x587.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nYou can also generate critical CSS, which is essential for passing the CWV on many websites. By the way, this feature alone would cost you $10\/month if you were using a service like criticalcss.com. <\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Nitropack](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/nitropack-css-delivery-optimization-1024x454.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nAnother fantastic feature of Nitropack is that it can reduce unused CSS which is appreciated because apart from WPRocket, I\u2019ve found no other tool addressing this VERY common issue. With Nitropack, you can fix it using the toggle in the advanced options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With Nitropack, you can fix it using the toggle in the advanced options.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Nitropack](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/nitropack-reduce-unused-css-1024x518.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nLastly, you can also combine CSS, but we don\u2019t recommend enabling it. If you use modern HTTP, like most sites do today, it can often hurt your performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
JavaScript Optimization<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
JavaScript optimization isn\u2019t anything to write home about. Nitropack will automatically take care of JS on deployment, just like it does with CSS and HTML. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can exclude files from being loaded (this includes JavaScript, CSS, and images), and you can delay scripts from loading. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s not a common issue to solve, but it will pop up on Google Pagespeed Insights from time to time. If your site is struggling with JS load, delaying some scripts can help. <\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Nitropack](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/nitropack-javascript-optimization-1024x160.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nNitropack Content Delivery Network<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Nitropack comes with a global CDN to help improve your web performance and site speed. It\u2019s one of the reasons for its high price tag. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the CDN is not bad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s a white label AWS CDN, which is doing pretty well on CDN monitoring analytics<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Nitropack](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/nitropack-cdn-1024x627.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nIt\u2019s number four in speed. By contrast, Cloudflare<\/a> was taking up the 17th spot at the time of writing. BunnyCDN was on 14. <\/p>\n\n\n\nYou\u2019re getting world-class infrastructure to deliver unique pages to people all over the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And you only need to buy Nitropack. All of this is implemented on your site as soon as you install it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Integrations And Other Tools<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Nitropack has a lot of integrations and add-ons that can improve your experience and your site speed. For example, you can integrate with reverse-proxy providers like Varnish. You can also add Sucuri and Cloudflare integrations. <\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Nitropack](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/nitropack-integrations-1024x426.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nWhat we like most, however, is their Optimize Ads setting.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Nitropack](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/nitropack-optimize-ads-settings-1024x284.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nAds can really slow down a page and especially mess-up CWV scores like CLS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From our experience, Nitropack is one of the only tools that help you with that. Their Optimize Ads setting effectively maintains high site speed scores for pages that feature ads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Performance tests: Just How Much Do All These Features Help?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
We ran performance tests to see how Nitropack fares on a WordPress playground. The site we tested is a replica of one of our sites, representing how medium to large sites might benefit from Nitropack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The only difference we had to account for was traffic. Our playground doesn\u2019t get any.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To fix that, we enabled warm caching, which optimizes pages even if they\u2019re not getting any traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our site without web performance optimization<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The AH playground has some web performance issues. Here\u2019s a summary of them:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Ah](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/ah-playground-web-performance-issues-1024x554.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nRender blocking resources are the biggest culprit for our site not passing the Core Web Vitals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We had more minor issues on top of that:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Ah](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/ah-playground-diagnostics-1024x680.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nAll of these, and more, led to a score of 85 on mobile. That\u2019s below the \u201c90\u201d threshold needed to pass the Core Web Vitals. We passed it on Desktop, but some of the problems from mobile existed there too.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Ah](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/ah-playground-mobile-results-1024x696.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nImagine this was a real site, and we wanted to pass the Core Web Vitals test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Right now, we\u2019d have to install WP Rocket, integrate Cloudflare, and add a lot of exceptions for things like CSS minification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, we\u2019d have to get a different tool for image optimization and hope WP Rocket is strong enough to optimize our files.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Or we could just install Nitropack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our site after optimizing it with Nitropack<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
We deployed Nitropack with its default \u201cLudicrous\u201d settings. As soon as everything was set up (5 minutes maximum), these were the test results on mobile:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Ah](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/ah-playgound-after-optimization-mobile-1024x603.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nAnd these were the results on Desktop:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Ah](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/ah-playground-after-optimization-desktop-1024x618.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nWe still had minor issues with the FCP on mobile. But keep in mind that these results are before any manual optimization. We\u2019re running the default settings here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moreover, even if it had minor issues with the FCP, we still passed the test. And with better results than we did with WP Rocket and Cloudflare. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s what the diagnostics looked like:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Ah](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/ah-playground-after-optimization-diagnostics-1024x597.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nIt\u2019s important to note that \u201cReduce unused CSS\u201d can be solved by disabling the \u201cCombine CSS\u201d option. Moreover, \u201cImage elements do not have explicit width and height\u201d is something Nitropack can solve on your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But these particular images are from Amazon, so it\u2019s out of our control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So here\u2019s the bottom line: there are alternatives to Nitropack. We\u2019ve even reviewed them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But there\u2019s nothing as effective and as quick as Nitropack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s the reasoning behind its high price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But let\u2019s dig deeper. Nitropack has a CDN, so we\u2019re curious to see how it improves site speed as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speed And Performance Tests From All Over The World<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The Google Pagespeed Insights test is great to gauge what you can improve to pass the Core Web Vitals. Their \u201cOpportunities and Diagnostics\u201d section is very helpful. But the speed tests vary a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So let\u2019s see how fast our site loads after installing Nitropack on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These are the base speed results from GTMetrix<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Ah](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/ah-playground-gtmetrix-performance-1024x415.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nClean A from Vancouver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
GTMetrix did find some issues we can work on, but they\u2019re minor.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Ah](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/ah-playground-gtmetrix-top-issues-1024x381.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nBut Nitropack comes with a CDN, so we want to see how it performs with traffic from all over the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s why we also used WebPageTest.org to see how our test site performs.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Webpagetest](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/webpagetest-virginia-server-1024x363.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nAs you can see, we still struggled with FCP a bit. So it\u2019s something we\u2019ll have to look into more. But overall the metrics were good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the tests from their Mumbai server went a bit worse:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Webpagetest](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/webpagetest-mumbai-server-1024x368.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nOur TBT metric was particularly bad, and it was the only score that didn\u2019t pass the test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the Frankfurt test was much better:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Webpagetest](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/webpagetest-frankfurt-server-1024x337.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nSo, in conclusion, Nitropack may drop the ball in fringe cases. We’ve had issues with performance swings. We even turned Nitropack off during our previous launch because it made images load really slowly on our sales page. But by and large, test results show it\u2019s an effective all-in-one solution to optimize your site speed and performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nitropack Pricing and Support<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Nitropack is expensive. That\u2019s one of its most significant drawbacks, so we don\u2019t recommend it if you\u2019re just getting started with your site. <\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Nitropack](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/nitropack-pricing-1024x494.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nAs you can see, Nitropack gets more and more expensive the bigger your site is. For an average site of 50k visitors, you can expect to pay $21\/month for Nitropack. And it can get as expensive as $176\/month for big sites. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
They also have discounts if you pay for an entire year in advance and a free version for tiny sites to give the software a try. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But don\u2019t judge the prices in a vacuum. Think about what you\u2019re getting for your money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s not just a classic web performance plugin<\/a> that minifies your CSS and JavaScript. It does that, and a ton more on top. Nitropack is an all-in-one solution for improving your site speed and passing the Core Web Vitals. <\/p>\n\n\n\nSo what about support?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
When writing this Nitropack review, we contacted support with a question about deployment. They got back to us in under 15 minutes and solved our issue. <\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Nitropack](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/nitropack-support-message.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nHowever, we did have different experiences in the past. One time, it took them 4 hours to get back to us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
That might not sound like a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But if you have a launch coming up and your site\u2019s down, you need a faster response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Especially if the service you\u2019re paying for charges premium prices. For big sites, you can spend thousands of dollars per year on Nitropack. Live, 24 hours support should be available when you pay so much money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
AH Pro members also had terrible experiences with Nitropack support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So let\u2019s talk more about the downsides often reported about Nitropack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What customers don’t like about Nitropack<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Our members’ group is filled with mixed experiences of Nitropack. Some of our AH Pro members reported great success with the tool.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Nitropack](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/nitropack-customer-review-positive.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nBut a lot of them complained about support:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Nitropack](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/nitropack-customer-review1.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nAnd we mean a lot of them:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Nitropack](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/nitropack-customer-review2.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nOn top of faulty support, Nitropack also has a history of outages. And some people online claim it can hurt sites that rely a lot on JavaScript. We\u2019re happy Nitropack users, but a lot of people steer clear of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Especially because they think Nitropack is playing loose with the rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is Nitropack blackhat or cheating?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
A lot of people bash Nitropack for its alleged blackhat SEO techniques. There\u2019s an in-depth research paper on the topic<\/a>, which we\u2019ve analyzed. It levels harsh criticism at Nitropack. They claim that Nitropack cheats the Google Pagespeed Insights test by hiding performance issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\nHow can they do that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, Nitropack\u2019s prefetch feature (that delays initialization of some CSS and JS resources) is allegedly a way of cheating the system because it doesn\u2019t actually improve user experience. It just loads elements after the Pagespeed Insights test is finished. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The paper later outlines how a simple Lighthouse test will reveal CLS issues, even if Pagespeed was cheated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So we tried to run a Lighthouse test on a page earlier optimized with Nitropack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And we passed the test with no problem:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Nitropack](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/nitropack-lighthouse-test.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nSo it doesn\u2019t seem like it\u2019s an issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A lot of the research paper is focused on Nitropack\u2019s incompatibility with JavaScript sites. We can\u2019t verify this too well – our sites are built on GeneratePress, a lightweight theme that\u2019s not relying too much on JS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re serious about passing the CWV, that should be the default anyway.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nBut even if webwhim\u2019s analysis is on point, it\u2019s still an issue you can overcome. You can deactivate any form of JavaScript optimization for your site at any time:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Nitropack](\"https:\/\/www.authorityhacker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/nitropack-javascript-deactivaction-1024x331.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nIf you\u2019re curious about a breakdown of each cheating allegation leveled at Nitropack, WPLearningLab\u2019s video<\/a> does an excellent job of breaking it down. <\/p>\n\n\n\nConclusion: Is Nitropack the choice for you?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re serious about passing the CWV test and don\u2019t have the time to do it manually, Nitropack is a useful SaaS. As long as you can afford it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s make it easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We recommend web performance solutions based on where you fit in these three categories:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- If you\u2019re just getting started, with no more than a few thousand users each month, a free plugin like Breeze is the way to go. You may need to pay extra for something like Cloudflare<\/a> or BunnyCDN<\/a>, but this is definitely the bootstrap way to go. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n- If you have a medium site, with a little bit of revenue, WP Rocket<\/a> and Cloudflare<\/a> are a good mix. They\u2019re slightly more expensive, but they\u2019re worth it. Read our WP Rocket review<\/a> to find out more. You can check our Nitropack vs WP Rocket<\/a> comparison.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n- If you have an established site, Nitropack is a no-brainer. Its cost is adapted to your site\u2019s size, and its services are unmatched. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
FAQ<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\nIs Nitropack any good?<\/h3>\n\n\nYes, we think Nitropack is pretty good. We don\u2019t recommend it to everyone, though. If you have a small site and you\u2019re bootstrapping, it won\u2019t be worth the money. But if you can afford its subscription, Nitropack makes your life much easier.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nIs Nitropack better than WP Rocket?<\/h3>\n\n\nWe don\u2019t think Nitropack is better than WP Rocket. Nitropack does much more automatically, has more options for you to set manually, and offers a CDN and image optimization software on top of web performance optimization.<\/p>\n
But WP Rocket is much cheaper. So if you can afford Nitropack, we recommend you get it. If you can’t, WP Rocket is still a viable alternative. But you\u2019ll need to get a CDN from somewhere else, and you\u2019ll need to do a lot of things manually.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nDoes Nitropack affect SEO?<\/h3>\n\n\nYes, Nitropack actually helps with SEO. It\u2019s the easiest and most time-saving way to optimize your site and pass the Core Web Vitals test, which is a ranking factor. If you can get a green tick on all CWV metrics, you\u2019ll have an easier time ranking high on Google.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nHow much is Nitropack?<\/h3>\n\n\nNitropack is pretty expensive. It can cost you anything between 0-$176\/month. It all depends on your site\u2019s size. But you do get your money\u2019s worth. Nitropack is THE tool to optimize your site\u2019s web performance and pass the Core Web Vitals.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Cons<\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n- Pretty lousy customer support for the price they charge<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Track record of outages<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Pretty expensive<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Potential incompatibilities with Javascript-heavy sites. But this is something we\u2019re reporting, not something we ran into ourselves<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
What Is Nitropack?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Nitropack is an all-in-one web performance and speed optimization tool. It\u2019s focused on helping users improve their site speed and pass the Core Web Vitals test. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Its most significant benefit is how easy it is to deploy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In most cases, you\u2019ll just need to install the plugin on your site, and you\u2019re done. With automatic HTML, CSS, and JS optimization, on top of their CDN and image optimization, you\u2019re guaranteed to get results in under 5 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nAnd if you don\u2019t, Nitropack has dozens of features and tools to help you customize it and pass the Core Web Vitals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Performance and the Core Web Vitals metrics<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Some talk online about Nitropack being built for the Google Pagespeed Insights<\/a> test. Some even claim Nitropack tricks the site speed tool<\/a> instead of optimizing site performance. <\/p>\n\n\n\nWe\u2019ve been using Nitropack for a long while, and we don\u2019t think that\u2019s true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The sites we deployed it on performed well on the SERP long after Nitropack was installed. And even for this Nitropack review, we corroborated results from the Pagespeed Insights test with other Google-approved tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When running it, we do pass the core web vitals in the long run on the webmaster console.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nAnd Nitropack does help you pass the Core Web Vitals test. Let\u2019s see how they manage to do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nitropack features and tools<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Nitropack boasts dozens of unique features and minor tweaks you can use for website performance optimization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019ll analyze them all to see what they do automatically and what you can use them for if the initial deployment of Nitropack doesn\u2019t solve all of your site speed issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a quick overview, here\u2019s what you get as soon as you install the plugin on your site:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nThat\u2019s impressive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But you can do more. In the settings tab, you\u2019ll see all the additional options you get, like optimizing ads or excluding CSS files from minification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you need to be even more hands-on, you can set your Nitropack settings to \u201cManual.\u201d This will let you access the \u201cAdvanced Settings\u201d tab, where you\u2019ll find dozens of settings you can tweak to fit your site needs.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nThis is also the only way to enable integration with Nitropack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nitropack Caching<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Nitropack caching is pretty straightforward. It optimizes the cache for the pages on your site loaded by users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And it does an outstanding job of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At any time, you can see the cache size on the Nitropack dashboard, and you can choose to purge the cache.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nCache warming is also a great option you should consider enabling in your Nitropack account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This makes Nitropack optimize pages even if users do not load them. But turning it on, or leaving it disabled as it is by default, is a choice you\u2019ll have to make based on your site\u2019s traffic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cache warming is an excellent option if you don\u2019t get uniform traffic to your pages and you\u2019re on an upward trend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it\u2019s not required if you already have consistent traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Comprehensive image optimization<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
When you install Nitropack, it automatically takes care of image optimization, compressing your media files, and adapting their size to the screen of your visitors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is a great feature to have, mainly since manual alternatives like WP Rocket<\/a> don\u2019t feature anything like it. It will help you solve issues like \u201cImages don\u2019t have width and height attributes\u201d and improve the score for LCP or FCP. <\/p>\n\n\n\nAnd there\u2019s more. For example, you can tweak the quality metric for images. The default \u201c80\u201d is good. That\u2019s the recommended Google setting.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nBut it doesn\u2019t hurt to get more options based on what your audience wants.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nLastly, you can also specify additional DOM resources for Nitropack to optimize. It\u2019s an excellent perk if you have issues with excessive DOM sizes on your WordPress site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
HTML Optimization<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
When you install Nitropack, it will automatically optimize your site\u2019s HTML. This isn\u2019t a huge or attractive perk. It\u2019s just covering the basics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You do get additional options though. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most notably, you can minify JSON for linking data. It\u2019s a feature we haven\u2019t seen in many website performance optimization plugins. If you have issues with JSON, Nitropack can help.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nMoreover, Nitropack does a great job at integrating with OptinMonster<\/a> our lead generation tool. A while back, it had problems with other pop-up software. <\/p>\n\n\n\nWe switched from OptinMonster on one of our older sites, and we started having performance issues. But as long as you\u2019re using OptinMonster, you should see good results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can also choose to keep HTML comments in the final cache of a page. But we don\u2019t recommend enabling this. HTML comments count as DOM resources so that they can take slow down your page<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CSS optimization<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
CSS optimization is one of the biggest perks when using Nitropack. It\u2019s automatically enabled, and it offers dozens of settings and tweaks to improve CSS. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And that\u2019s on top of doing a great job at minifying your site\u2019s CSS automatically. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For starters, you can write custom CSS rules. This means that if particular files or sections on your site cause a hassle, you can solve the problems manually by excluding it from optimization or treating it differently. <\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nYou can also generate critical CSS, which is essential for passing the CWV on many websites. By the way, this feature alone would cost you $10\/month if you were using a service like criticalcss.com. <\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nAnother fantastic feature of Nitropack is that it can reduce unused CSS which is appreciated because apart from WPRocket, I\u2019ve found no other tool addressing this VERY common issue. With Nitropack, you can fix it using the toggle in the advanced options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With Nitropack, you can fix it using the toggle in the advanced options.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nLastly, you can also combine CSS, but we don\u2019t recommend enabling it. If you use modern HTTP, like most sites do today, it can often hurt your performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
JavaScript Optimization<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
JavaScript optimization isn\u2019t anything to write home about. Nitropack will automatically take care of JS on deployment, just like it does with CSS and HTML. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can exclude files from being loaded (this includes JavaScript, CSS, and images), and you can delay scripts from loading. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s not a common issue to solve, but it will pop up on Google Pagespeed Insights from time to time. If your site is struggling with JS load, delaying some scripts can help. <\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nNitropack Content Delivery Network<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Nitropack comes with a global CDN to help improve your web performance and site speed. It\u2019s one of the reasons for its high price tag. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the CDN is not bad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s a white label AWS CDN, which is doing pretty well on CDN monitoring analytics<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nIt\u2019s number four in speed. By contrast, Cloudflare<\/a> was taking up the 17th spot at the time of writing. BunnyCDN was on 14. <\/p>\n\n\n\nYou\u2019re getting world-class infrastructure to deliver unique pages to people all over the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And you only need to buy Nitropack. All of this is implemented on your site as soon as you install it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Integrations And Other Tools<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Nitropack has a lot of integrations and add-ons that can improve your experience and your site speed. For example, you can integrate with reverse-proxy providers like Varnish. You can also add Sucuri and Cloudflare integrations. <\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nWhat we like most, however, is their Optimize Ads setting.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nAds can really slow down a page and especially mess-up CWV scores like CLS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From our experience, Nitropack is one of the only tools that help you with that. Their Optimize Ads setting effectively maintains high site speed scores for pages that feature ads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Performance tests: Just How Much Do All These Features Help?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
We ran performance tests to see how Nitropack fares on a WordPress playground. The site we tested is a replica of one of our sites, representing how medium to large sites might benefit from Nitropack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The only difference we had to account for was traffic. Our playground doesn\u2019t get any.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To fix that, we enabled warm caching, which optimizes pages even if they\u2019re not getting any traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our site without web performance optimization<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The AH playground has some web performance issues. Here\u2019s a summary of them:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nRender blocking resources are the biggest culprit for our site not passing the Core Web Vitals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We had more minor issues on top of that:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nAll of these, and more, led to a score of 85 on mobile. That\u2019s below the \u201c90\u201d threshold needed to pass the Core Web Vitals. We passed it on Desktop, but some of the problems from mobile existed there too.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nImagine this was a real site, and we wanted to pass the Core Web Vitals test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Right now, we\u2019d have to install WP Rocket, integrate Cloudflare, and add a lot of exceptions for things like CSS minification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, we\u2019d have to get a different tool for image optimization and hope WP Rocket is strong enough to optimize our files.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Or we could just install Nitropack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our site after optimizing it with Nitropack<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
We deployed Nitropack with its default \u201cLudicrous\u201d settings. As soon as everything was set up (5 minutes maximum), these were the test results on mobile:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nAnd these were the results on Desktop:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nWe still had minor issues with the FCP on mobile. But keep in mind that these results are before any manual optimization. We\u2019re running the default settings here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moreover, even if it had minor issues with the FCP, we still passed the test. And with better results than we did with WP Rocket and Cloudflare. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s what the diagnostics looked like:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nIt\u2019s important to note that \u201cReduce unused CSS\u201d can be solved by disabling the \u201cCombine CSS\u201d option. Moreover, \u201cImage elements do not have explicit width and height\u201d is something Nitropack can solve on your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But these particular images are from Amazon, so it\u2019s out of our control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So here\u2019s the bottom line: there are alternatives to Nitropack. We\u2019ve even reviewed them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But there\u2019s nothing as effective and as quick as Nitropack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s the reasoning behind its high price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But let\u2019s dig deeper. Nitropack has a CDN, so we\u2019re curious to see how it improves site speed as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speed And Performance Tests From All Over The World<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The Google Pagespeed Insights test is great to gauge what you can improve to pass the Core Web Vitals. Their \u201cOpportunities and Diagnostics\u201d section is very helpful. But the speed tests vary a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So let\u2019s see how fast our site loads after installing Nitropack on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These are the base speed results from GTMetrix<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nClean A from Vancouver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
GTMetrix did find some issues we can work on, but they\u2019re minor.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nBut Nitropack comes with a CDN, so we want to see how it performs with traffic from all over the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s why we also used WebPageTest.org to see how our test site performs.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nAs you can see, we still struggled with FCP a bit. So it\u2019s something we\u2019ll have to look into more. But overall the metrics were good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the tests from their Mumbai server went a bit worse:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nOur TBT metric was particularly bad, and it was the only score that didn\u2019t pass the test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the Frankfurt test was much better:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nSo, in conclusion, Nitropack may drop the ball in fringe cases. We’ve had issues with performance swings. We even turned Nitropack off during our previous launch because it made images load really slowly on our sales page. But by and large, test results show it\u2019s an effective all-in-one solution to optimize your site speed and performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nitropack Pricing and Support<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Nitropack is expensive. That\u2019s one of its most significant drawbacks, so we don\u2019t recommend it if you\u2019re just getting started with your site. <\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nAs you can see, Nitropack gets more and more expensive the bigger your site is. For an average site of 50k visitors, you can expect to pay $21\/month for Nitropack. And it can get as expensive as $176\/month for big sites. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
They also have discounts if you pay for an entire year in advance and a free version for tiny sites to give the software a try. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But don\u2019t judge the prices in a vacuum. Think about what you\u2019re getting for your money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s not just a classic web performance plugin<\/a> that minifies your CSS and JavaScript. It does that, and a ton more on top. Nitropack is an all-in-one solution for improving your site speed and passing the Core Web Vitals. <\/p>\n\n\n\nSo what about support?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
When writing this Nitropack review, we contacted support with a question about deployment. They got back to us in under 15 minutes and solved our issue. <\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nHowever, we did have different experiences in the past. One time, it took them 4 hours to get back to us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
That might not sound like a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But if you have a launch coming up and your site\u2019s down, you need a faster response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Especially if the service you\u2019re paying for charges premium prices. For big sites, you can spend thousands of dollars per year on Nitropack. Live, 24 hours support should be available when you pay so much money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
AH Pro members also had terrible experiences with Nitropack support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So let\u2019s talk more about the downsides often reported about Nitropack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What customers don’t like about Nitropack<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Our members’ group is filled with mixed experiences of Nitropack. Some of our AH Pro members reported great success with the tool.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nBut a lot of them complained about support:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nAnd we mean a lot of them:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nOn top of faulty support, Nitropack also has a history of outages. And some people online claim it can hurt sites that rely a lot on JavaScript. We\u2019re happy Nitropack users, but a lot of people steer clear of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Especially because they think Nitropack is playing loose with the rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is Nitropack blackhat or cheating?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
A lot of people bash Nitropack for its alleged blackhat SEO techniques. There\u2019s an in-depth research paper on the topic<\/a>, which we\u2019ve analyzed. It levels harsh criticism at Nitropack. They claim that Nitropack cheats the Google Pagespeed Insights test by hiding performance issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\nHow can they do that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, Nitropack\u2019s prefetch feature (that delays initialization of some CSS and JS resources) is allegedly a way of cheating the system because it doesn\u2019t actually improve user experience. It just loads elements after the Pagespeed Insights test is finished. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The paper later outlines how a simple Lighthouse test will reveal CLS issues, even if Pagespeed was cheated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So we tried to run a Lighthouse test on a page earlier optimized with Nitropack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And we passed the test with no problem:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nSo it doesn\u2019t seem like it\u2019s an issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A lot of the research paper is focused on Nitropack\u2019s incompatibility with JavaScript sites. We can\u2019t verify this too well – our sites are built on GeneratePress, a lightweight theme that\u2019s not relying too much on JS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re serious about passing the CWV, that should be the default anyway.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nBut even if webwhim\u2019s analysis is on point, it\u2019s still an issue you can overcome. You can deactivate any form of JavaScript optimization for your site at any time:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nIf you\u2019re curious about a breakdown of each cheating allegation leveled at Nitropack, WPLearningLab\u2019s video<\/a> does an excellent job of breaking it down. <\/p>\n\n\n\nConclusion: Is Nitropack the choice for you?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re serious about passing the CWV test and don\u2019t have the time to do it manually, Nitropack is a useful SaaS. As long as you can afford it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s make it easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We recommend web performance solutions based on where you fit in these three categories:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- If you\u2019re just getting started, with no more than a few thousand users each month, a free plugin like Breeze is the way to go. You may need to pay extra for something like Cloudflare<\/a> or BunnyCDN<\/a>, but this is definitely the bootstrap way to go. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n- If you have a medium site, with a little bit of revenue, WP Rocket<\/a> and Cloudflare<\/a> are a good mix. They\u2019re slightly more expensive, but they\u2019re worth it. Read our WP Rocket review<\/a> to find out more. You can check our Nitropack vs WP Rocket<\/a> comparison.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n- If you have an established site, Nitropack is a no-brainer. Its cost is adapted to your site\u2019s size, and its services are unmatched. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
FAQ<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\nIs Nitropack any good?<\/h3>\n\n\nYes, we think Nitropack is pretty good. We don\u2019t recommend it to everyone, though. If you have a small site and you\u2019re bootstrapping, it won\u2019t be worth the money. But if you can afford its subscription, Nitropack makes your life much easier.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nIs Nitropack better than WP Rocket?<\/h3>\n\n\nWe don\u2019t think Nitropack is better than WP Rocket. Nitropack does much more automatically, has more options for you to set manually, and offers a CDN and image optimization software on top of web performance optimization.<\/p>\n
But WP Rocket is much cheaper. So if you can afford Nitropack, we recommend you get it. If you can’t, WP Rocket is still a viable alternative. But you\u2019ll need to get a CDN from somewhere else, and you\u2019ll need to do a lot of things manually.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nDoes Nitropack affect SEO?<\/h3>\n\n\nYes, Nitropack actually helps with SEO. It\u2019s the easiest and most time-saving way to optimize your site and pass the Core Web Vitals test, which is a ranking factor. If you can get a green tick on all CWV metrics, you\u2019ll have an easier time ranking high on Google.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nHow much is Nitropack?<\/h3>\n\n\nNitropack is pretty expensive. It can cost you anything between 0-$176\/month. It all depends on your site\u2019s size. But you do get your money\u2019s worth. Nitropack is THE tool to optimize your site\u2019s web performance and pass the Core Web Vitals.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What Is Nitropack?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Nitropack is an all-in-one web performance and speed optimization tool. It\u2019s focused on helping users improve their site speed and pass the Core Web Vitals test. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Its most significant benefit is how easy it is to deploy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In most cases, you\u2019ll just need to install the plugin on your site, and you\u2019re done. With automatic HTML, CSS, and JS optimization, on top of their CDN and image optimization, you\u2019re guaranteed to get results in under 5 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nAnd if you don\u2019t, Nitropack has dozens of features and tools to help you customize it and pass the Core Web Vitals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Performance and the Core Web Vitals metrics<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Some talk online about Nitropack being built for the Google Pagespeed Insights<\/a> test. Some even claim Nitropack tricks the site speed tool<\/a> instead of optimizing site performance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ve been using Nitropack for a long while, and we don\u2019t think that\u2019s true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The sites we deployed it on performed well on the SERP long after Nitropack was installed. And even for this Nitropack review, we corroborated results from the Pagespeed Insights test with other Google-approved tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When running it, we do pass the core web vitals in the long run on the webmaster console.<\/p>\n\n\n And Nitropack does help you pass the Core Web Vitals test. Let\u2019s see how they manage to do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nitropack boasts dozens of unique features and minor tweaks you can use for website performance optimization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ll analyze them all to see what they do automatically and what you can use them for if the initial deployment of Nitropack doesn\u2019t solve all of your site speed issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For a quick overview, here\u2019s what you get as soon as you install the plugin on your site:<\/p>\n\n\n That\u2019s impressive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But you can do more. In the settings tab, you\u2019ll see all the additional options you get, like optimizing ads or excluding CSS files from minification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you need to be even more hands-on, you can set your Nitropack settings to \u201cManual.\u201d This will let you access the \u201cAdvanced Settings\u201d tab, where you\u2019ll find dozens of settings you can tweak to fit your site needs.<\/p>\n\n\n This is also the only way to enable integration with Nitropack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nitropack caching is pretty straightforward. It optimizes the cache for the pages on your site loaded by users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And it does an outstanding job of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At any time, you can see the cache size on the Nitropack dashboard, and you can choose to purge the cache.<\/p>\n\n\n Cache warming is also a great option you should consider enabling in your Nitropack account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This makes Nitropack optimize pages even if users do not load them. But turning it on, or leaving it disabled as it is by default, is a choice you\u2019ll have to make based on your site\u2019s traffic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Cache warming is an excellent option if you don\u2019t get uniform traffic to your pages and you\u2019re on an upward trend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But it\u2019s not required if you already have consistent traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you install Nitropack, it automatically takes care of image optimization, compressing your media files, and adapting their size to the screen of your visitors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a great feature to have, mainly since manual alternatives like WP Rocket<\/a> don\u2019t feature anything like it. It will help you solve issues like \u201cImages don\u2019t have width and height attributes\u201d and improve the score for LCP or FCP. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And there\u2019s more. For example, you can tweak the quality metric for images. The default \u201c80\u201d is good. That\u2019s the recommended Google setting.<\/p>\n\n\n But it doesn\u2019t hurt to get more options based on what your audience wants.<\/p>\n\n\n Lastly, you can also specify additional DOM resources for Nitropack to optimize. It\u2019s an excellent perk if you have issues with excessive DOM sizes on your WordPress site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you install Nitropack, it will automatically optimize your site\u2019s HTML. This isn\u2019t a huge or attractive perk. It\u2019s just covering the basics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You do get additional options though. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Most notably, you can minify JSON for linking data. It\u2019s a feature we haven\u2019t seen in many website performance optimization plugins. If you have issues with JSON, Nitropack can help.<\/p>\n\n\n Moreover, Nitropack does a great job at integrating with OptinMonster<\/a> our lead generation tool. A while back, it had problems with other pop-up software. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We switched from OptinMonster on one of our older sites, and we started having performance issues. But as long as you\u2019re using OptinMonster, you should see good results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can also choose to keep HTML comments in the final cache of a page. But we don\u2019t recommend enabling this. HTML comments count as DOM resources so that they can take slow down your page<\/p>\n\n\n\n CSS optimization is one of the biggest perks when using Nitropack. It\u2019s automatically enabled, and it offers dozens of settings and tweaks to improve CSS. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And that\u2019s on top of doing a great job at minifying your site\u2019s CSS automatically. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For starters, you can write custom CSS rules. This means that if particular files or sections on your site cause a hassle, you can solve the problems manually by excluding it from optimization or treating it differently. <\/p>\n\n\n You can also generate critical CSS, which is essential for passing the CWV on many websites. By the way, this feature alone would cost you $10\/month if you were using a service like criticalcss.com. <\/p>\n\n\n Another fantastic feature of Nitropack is that it can reduce unused CSS which is appreciated because apart from WPRocket, I\u2019ve found no other tool addressing this VERY common issue. With Nitropack, you can fix it using the toggle in the advanced options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Nitropack, you can fix it using the toggle in the advanced options.<\/p>\n\n\n Lastly, you can also combine CSS, but we don\u2019t recommend enabling it. If you use modern HTTP, like most sites do today, it can often hurt your performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n JavaScript optimization isn\u2019t anything to write home about. Nitropack will automatically take care of JS on deployment, just like it does with CSS and HTML. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can exclude files from being loaded (this includes JavaScript, CSS, and images), and you can delay scripts from loading. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not a common issue to solve, but it will pop up on Google Pagespeed Insights from time to time. If your site is struggling with JS load, delaying some scripts can help. <\/p>\n\n\n Nitropack comes with a global CDN to help improve your web performance and site speed. It\u2019s one of the reasons for its high price tag. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But the CDN is not bad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s a white label AWS CDN, which is doing pretty well on CDN monitoring analytics<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n It\u2019s number four in speed. By contrast, Cloudflare<\/a> was taking up the 17th spot at the time of writing. BunnyCDN was on 14. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019re getting world-class infrastructure to deliver unique pages to people all over the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And you only need to buy Nitropack. All of this is implemented on your site as soon as you install it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nitropack has a lot of integrations and add-ons that can improve your experience and your site speed. For example, you can integrate with reverse-proxy providers like Varnish. You can also add Sucuri and Cloudflare integrations. <\/p>\n\n\n What we like most, however, is their Optimize Ads setting.<\/p>\n\n\n Ads can really slow down a page and especially mess-up CWV scores like CLS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From our experience, Nitropack is one of the only tools that help you with that. Their Optimize Ads setting effectively maintains high site speed scores for pages that feature ads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We ran performance tests to see how Nitropack fares on a WordPress playground. The site we tested is a replica of one of our sites, representing how medium to large sites might benefit from Nitropack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The only difference we had to account for was traffic. Our playground doesn\u2019t get any.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To fix that, we enabled warm caching, which optimizes pages even if they\u2019re not getting any traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The AH playground has some web performance issues. Here\u2019s a summary of them:<\/p>\n\n\n Render blocking resources are the biggest culprit for our site not passing the Core Web Vitals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We had more minor issues on top of that:<\/p>\n\n\n All of these, and more, led to a score of 85 on mobile. That\u2019s below the \u201c90\u201d threshold needed to pass the Core Web Vitals. We passed it on Desktop, but some of the problems from mobile existed there too.<\/p>\n\n\n Imagine this was a real site, and we wanted to pass the Core Web Vitals test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Right now, we\u2019d have to install WP Rocket, integrate Cloudflare, and add a lot of exceptions for things like CSS minification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then, we\u2019d have to get a different tool for image optimization and hope WP Rocket is strong enough to optimize our files.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Or we could just install Nitropack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We deployed Nitropack with its default \u201cLudicrous\u201d settings. As soon as everything was set up (5 minutes maximum), these were the test results on mobile:<\/p>\n\n\n And these were the results on Desktop:<\/p>\n\n\n We still had minor issues with the FCP on mobile. But keep in mind that these results are before any manual optimization. We\u2019re running the default settings here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Moreover, even if it had minor issues with the FCP, we still passed the test. And with better results than we did with WP Rocket and Cloudflare. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s what the diagnostics looked like:<\/p>\n\n\n It\u2019s important to note that \u201cReduce unused CSS\u201d can be solved by disabling the \u201cCombine CSS\u201d option. Moreover, \u201cImage elements do not have explicit width and height\u201d is something Nitropack can solve on your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But these particular images are from Amazon, so it\u2019s out of our control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So here\u2019s the bottom line: there are alternatives to Nitropack. We\u2019ve even reviewed them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But there\u2019s nothing as effective and as quick as Nitropack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s the reasoning behind its high price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But let\u2019s dig deeper. Nitropack has a CDN, so we\u2019re curious to see how it improves site speed as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Google Pagespeed Insights test is great to gauge what you can improve to pass the Core Web Vitals. Their \u201cOpportunities and Diagnostics\u201d section is very helpful. But the speed tests vary a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So let\u2019s see how fast our site loads after installing Nitropack on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These are the base speed results from GTMetrix<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n Clean A from Vancouver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n GTMetrix did find some issues we can work on, but they\u2019re minor.<\/p>\n\n\n But Nitropack comes with a CDN, so we want to see how it performs with traffic from all over the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s why we also used WebPageTest.org to see how our test site performs.<\/p>\n\n\n As you can see, we still struggled with FCP a bit. So it\u2019s something we\u2019ll have to look into more. But overall the metrics were good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the tests from their Mumbai server went a bit worse:<\/p>\n\n\n Our TBT metric was particularly bad, and it was the only score that didn\u2019t pass the test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the Frankfurt test was much better:<\/p>\n\n\n So, in conclusion, Nitropack may drop the ball in fringe cases. We’ve had issues with performance swings. We even turned Nitropack off during our previous launch because it made images load really slowly on our sales page. But by and large, test results show it\u2019s an effective all-in-one solution to optimize your site speed and performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nitropack is expensive. That\u2019s one of its most significant drawbacks, so we don\u2019t recommend it if you\u2019re just getting started with your site. <\/p>\n\n\n As you can see, Nitropack gets more and more expensive the bigger your site is. For an average site of 50k visitors, you can expect to pay $21\/month for Nitropack. And it can get as expensive as $176\/month for big sites. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They also have discounts if you pay for an entire year in advance and a free version for tiny sites to give the software a try. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But don\u2019t judge the prices in a vacuum. Think about what you\u2019re getting for your money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not just a classic web performance plugin<\/a> that minifies your CSS and JavaScript. It does that, and a ton more on top. Nitropack is an all-in-one solution for improving your site speed and passing the Core Web Vitals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When writing this Nitropack review, we contacted support with a question about deployment. They got back to us in under 15 minutes and solved our issue. <\/p>\n\n\n However, we did have different experiences in the past. One time, it took them 4 hours to get back to us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That might not sound like a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But if you have a launch coming up and your site\u2019s down, you need a faster response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Especially if the service you\u2019re paying for charges premium prices. For big sites, you can spend thousands of dollars per year on Nitropack. Live, 24 hours support should be available when you pay so much money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n AH Pro members also had terrible experiences with Nitropack support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So let\u2019s talk more about the downsides often reported about Nitropack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our members’ group is filled with mixed experiences of Nitropack. Some of our AH Pro members reported great success with the tool.<\/p>\n\n\n But a lot of them complained about support:<\/p>\n\n\n And we mean a lot of them:<\/p>\n\n\n On top of faulty support, Nitropack also has a history of outages. And some people online claim it can hurt sites that rely a lot on JavaScript. We\u2019re happy Nitropack users, but a lot of people steer clear of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Especially because they think Nitropack is playing loose with the rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A lot of people bash Nitropack for its alleged blackhat SEO techniques. There\u2019s an in-depth research paper on the topic<\/a>, which we\u2019ve analyzed. It levels harsh criticism at Nitropack. They claim that Nitropack cheats the Google Pagespeed Insights test by hiding performance issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n How can they do that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, Nitropack\u2019s prefetch feature (that delays initialization of some CSS and JS resources) is allegedly a way of cheating the system because it doesn\u2019t actually improve user experience. It just loads elements after the Pagespeed Insights test is finished. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The paper later outlines how a simple Lighthouse test will reveal CLS issues, even if Pagespeed was cheated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So we tried to run a Lighthouse test on a page earlier optimized with Nitropack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And we passed the test with no problem:<\/p>\n\n\n So it doesn\u2019t seem like it\u2019s an issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A lot of the research paper is focused on Nitropack\u2019s incompatibility with JavaScript sites. We can\u2019t verify this too well – our sites are built on GeneratePress, a lightweight theme that\u2019s not relying too much on JS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re serious about passing the CWV, that should be the default anyway.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n But even if webwhim\u2019s analysis is on point, it\u2019s still an issue you can overcome. You can deactivate any form of JavaScript optimization for your site at any time:<\/p>\n\n\n If you\u2019re curious about a breakdown of each cheating allegation leveled at Nitropack, WPLearningLab\u2019s video<\/a> does an excellent job of breaking it down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re serious about passing the CWV test and don\u2019t have the time to do it manually, Nitropack is a useful SaaS. As long as you can afford it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s make it easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We recommend web performance solutions based on where you fit in these three categories:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes, we think Nitropack is pretty good. We don\u2019t recommend it to everyone, though. If you have a small site and you\u2019re bootstrapping, it won\u2019t be worth the money. But if you can afford its subscription, Nitropack makes your life much easier.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n We don\u2019t think Nitropack is better than WP Rocket. Nitropack does much more automatically, has more options for you to set manually, and offers a CDN and image optimization software on top of web performance optimization.<\/p>\n But WP Rocket is much cheaper. So if you can afford Nitropack, we recommend you get it. If you can’t, WP Rocket is still a viable alternative. But you\u2019ll need to get a CDN from somewhere else, and you\u2019ll need to do a lot of things manually.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Yes, Nitropack actually helps with SEO. It\u2019s the easiest and most time-saving way to optimize your site and pass the Core Web Vitals test, which is a ranking factor. If you can get a green tick on all CWV metrics, you\u2019ll have an easier time ranking high on Google.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Nitropack is pretty expensive. It can cost you anything between 0-$176\/month. It all depends on your site\u2019s size. But you do get your money\u2019s worth. Nitropack is THE tool to optimize your site\u2019s web performance and pass the Core Web Vitals.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nNitropack features and tools<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nNitropack Caching<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nComprehensive image optimization<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nHTML Optimization<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nCSS optimization<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nJavaScript Optimization<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nNitropack Content Delivery Network<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nIntegrations And Other Tools<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nPerformance tests: Just How Much Do All These Features Help?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Our site without web performance optimization<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nOur site after optimizing it with Nitropack<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nSpeed And Performance Tests From All Over The World<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nNitropack Pricing and Support<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nSo what about support?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nWhat customers don’t like about Nitropack<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nIs Nitropack blackhat or cheating?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nConclusion: Is Nitropack the choice for you?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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FAQ<\/h2>\n\n\n
Is Nitropack any good?<\/h3>\n
Is Nitropack better than WP Rocket?<\/h3>\n
Does Nitropack affect SEO?<\/h3>\n
How much is Nitropack?<\/h3>\n