Perfmatters vs Asset CleanUp (Free And Pro Version) – Comparison

Deciding between Perfmatters and Asset CleanUp?

The main difference between Perfmatters vs. Asset CleanUp is the complexity. While both plugin’s primary feature is a script manager for selectively disabling CSS and JavaScript, Asset CleanUp has significantly more settings than Perfmatters does, which can make it confusing.

Asset CleanUp’s interface just isn’t as clean as Perfmatters.

You should consider how each plugin’s features overlap with your cache plugin and which optimizations will improve your speed testing reports (e.g. GTmetrix and Lighthouse). If your cache plugin minifies and combines CSS + JavaScript, you won’t need this in Asset CleanUp.  If your cache plugin has lazy load and database cleanup options, you won’t need it in Perfmatters.

I ended up settling on Perfmatters, but both plugins have excellent reviews. If you’re still not sure, you can see which one most people use in Facebook Groups and their unbiased feedback.

 

1. What Most People Use In Facebook Groups

I always like to include Facebook Group feedback to keep my reviews less biased.

Conclusion
Perfmatters has a better UI, but some say Asset CleanUp Pro can do more than Perfmatters. However, if you’re already using WP Rocket, this already does takes care of some features included in Asset CleanUp Pro – like inline JavaScript and render-blocking CSS. One main difference is Perfmatters doesn’t allow you to unload custom CSS (Asset CleanUp Pro does).

 

2. Perfmatters vs. Asset CleanUp – User-Friendliness

Perfmatters is more user-friendly.

Asset CleanUp has lots of tabs, text, and long descriptions in each setting. Perfmatters is concise and was clearly created with design in mind (it was developed by Kinsta after all).

This is the #1 difference between the two plugins.

 

3. Perfmatters vs. Asset CleanUp – Features

If you’re already using a cache plugin for basic speed optimizations, chances are you don’t need many features in Perfmatters or Asset CleanUp.

But if you’re using a cache plugin that doesn’t come with these features, they can help you optimize even further. However, since I’m already using WP Rocket, I only use them for the script manager, bloat removal, preconnect, and CDN rewrite. WP Rocket does everything else.

One main difference in Perfmatters vs. Asset CleanUp is the test mode.

Asset CleanUp’s Test Mode lets you test the script manager without it breaking your site. Only administrators will see the changes on the front end (if any) while regular visitors won’t see any chances. This is very helpful if you’re not sure whether disabling some files will break your site.

You can view all of Perfmetters’ features and Asset CleanUp/Pro features on those pages.

View all Perfmatters features View all Asset CleanUp/Pro features

 

4. Perfmatters vs. Asset CleanUp – Script Manager

The Perfmatters and Asset CleanUp script manager do the same thing.

They let you exclude CSS, JavaScript, and plugins on specific pages/posts. There have been a few reports of Asset CleanUp detecting more files than Perfmatters, but not during my testing.

A key difference is how the script manager is loaded.

With Perfmatters, it opens in a new page. In Asset CleanUp, it loads on the same page when editing content. I personally don’t like things bulking up the editor, so Perfmatters wins here.

Main Differences:

• How the script manager is loaded (see above)
• Asset CleanUp Pro lets you defer and async files
• RegEx is included with Perfmatters, but only with Asset CleanUp Pro
• Asset CleanUp lets you preload files directly from the script manager

 

5. Perfmatters vs. Asset CleanUp – Documentation

Perfmatter’s documentation seems more straightforward than Asset CleanUp’s.

I also wrote a tutorial on configuring the Perfmatters settings which might help you.

 

6. Perfmatters vs. Asset CleanUp – Pricing

Asset CleanUp is more expensive than Perfmatters ranging from $47 – $147/year while Perfmatters is $24.95 – 124.95/year depending on your plan. However, Perfmatters has increased their prices in the past so it’s possible they will increase them again (who knows)?

 

7. Final Thoughts – Which One Do I Use?

I use Permatters.

It’s just easier and does everything I need it to. WP Rocket also wasn’t rewriting my assets (images) for some reason, but the CDN rewrite setting in Perfmatters fixed this, so now all my images are properly served from WP Rocket’s RocketCDN. This was a big bonus for me as well.

And if you’re using Elementor, here’s a little tip for you:

Cheers,
Tom