Pre* Party Resource Hints vs WP Smart Preloader (2026)
Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.
Pre* Party Resource Hints
6.0K+ active installs
Free
Quick Verdict
As of April 2026, Pre* Party Resource Hints has a higher user rating (5/5 from 28 reviews) and leads in active installations (6.0K+ vs 6.0K+). Both are free WordPress plugins. Pre* Party Resource Hints has accumulated 174K+ total downloads while WP Smart Preloader has 205K+.
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | Pre* Party Resource Hints | WP Smart Preloader | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 5/5 | ◄ | 4.4/5 |
| Total Reviews | 28 | ◄ | 25 |
| Active Installs | 6.0K+ | 6.0K+ | |
| Total Downloads | 174K+ | ► | 205K+ |
| Support Resolution | N/A | N/A | |
| Last Updated | 2 years ago | ► | 1 year ago |
| First Released | 2016 | 2015 | |
| Age | 10 years | 11 years | |
| WP Requires | 4.4+ | 2.8+ | |
| PHP Requires | 7.0.0+ | false+ | |
| Business Model | Free | Free | |
| Latest Version | 1.8.20 | 1.15.3 |
Rating Breakdown
Pre* Party Resource Hints
WP Smart Preloader
Download Trends
Over the past 30 days, Pre* Party Resource Hints averaged approximately 8 daily downloads while WP Smart Preloader averaged 20.
Recent Reviews
Pre* Party Resource Hints Reviews
Great plugin!
There are plenty of plugins that deal with this topic, even the official Speculation Rules, but for advanced users who know what they’re doing – this one is the best because it combines all techniques
awesome!
previously had a problem that patchstack reported WordPress Pre* Party Resource Hints Plugin <= 1.8.18 is vulnerable to SQL Injection was updated quite quickly in 1.8.19 This topic w
Brilliant plugin. So powerful that I removed my cache plugin
I ran a webpage test on GTMetrix, identified the items to pre-connect, pre-fetch and pre-load, and wham(!), a tremendous speed increase I could never consistently achieve with any caching plugin (and
WP Smart Preloader Reviews
Clever but limited
Did work out of the install…but, it is on a timer, vs watching for when the actual heavy loading page completes. I also needed it to run on a particular page and not the whole site.
Good preloader!
Once I added the code below to my functions.php file and adjusted the timing it works great. I also like the included loading image #1 better than other preloaders. add_action('wp_footer', function
It is not a CSS Only Preloader (as advertised)
It will cause a blank page to be displayed if Javascript is turned off.
More Preload Worth Comparing
Top alternatives in the same category as Pre* Party Resource Hints and WP Smart Preloader
Make website faster, speed up page load time and improve performance scores in tools like Google PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix, Pingdom, and more.
Easily add a pure CSS animated preloader to your WordPress website.
Allows you to specify on individual pages or posts the Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) Image on that page to preload, making the page load quicker.
Page Loader is a free Wordpress plugin to show a loader animation while page is being loaded.
Preload Featured Images automatically in posts to increase the PageSpeed Score.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Pre* Party Resource Hints or WP Smart Preloader more popular?
Which has better ratings — Pre* Party Resource Hints or WP Smart Preloader?
Are Pre* Party Resource Hints and WP Smart Preloader free?
Which plugin has better support — Pre* Party Resource Hints or WP Smart Preloader?
Which plugin is updated more frequently?
Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.