The short answer
Of the 30 optimization plugins I researched, Index WP MySQL For Speed is the closest to WP Multitool in spirit, which makes WP Multitool the natural Index WP MySQL For Speed alternative when you outgrow it. Both measure real queries and both end at "add an index" instead of caching over the problem. The difference is the method: Index WP MySQL applies a predefined, curated set of better keys to 11 core tables and records query timings. WP Multitool runs MySQL EXPLAIN on your specific slow queries and suggests an index for each one, wherever it lives. For core-table bottlenecks the free predefined keys are excellent. For everything else, you need per-query diagnosis.
Looking for an Index WP MySQL For Speed alternative?
The usual reason is that the curated keys did not fix your particular slow query, and that calls for per-query diagnosis rather than a different key set. WP Multitool does that with local EXPLAIN and index suggestions. If you want to see queries per request while developing, Query Monitor is the free dev-time reference. And if your database problem is bloat rather than indexes, Advanced Database Cleaner is the deep-cleanup specialist. I mapped the whole field in WP Multitool vs the alternatives.
What Index WP MySQL For Speed does
Ollie Jones's free plugin does database performance engineering. WordPress core ships with index definitions that were designed for small sites, and they fall over when wp_postmeta or wp_usermeta hits millions of rows. Index WP MySQL applies revised high-performance compound keys to 11 core WordPress and WooCommerce tables with one click, and can revert them to WP defaults. It also has a query monitor: you enable capture for a chosen number of minutes, it records the queries your site actually runs, and shows them ranked by execution time with per-pattern statistics (count, total, mean, spread, P95).
It requires InnoDB, works on MySQL and MariaDB, recommends WP-CLI for large tables, and has one operational caveat worth knowing: WordPress core database upgrades try to undo the changed keys, so the plugin has to stay active to reapply them. It is free, open source, and effective at what it targets. Around 50,000 sites run it.
What WP Multitool does
WP Multitool's Slow Query Analyzer works from the other direction. Instead of starting from a curated key set, it starts from your evidence: it logs the slow queries your site actually produces, runs MySQL EXPLAIN on each one locally (rule-based, no API calls, no AI), assigns a health score, and hands you a ready-to-run SQL index suggestion for that specific query. If the slow query hits a plugin's custom table, a bespoke postmeta pattern, or something no curated list could anticipate, EXPLAIN still tells you exactly why MySQL is scanning instead of seeking.
And the query layer is one module of 18. The same plugin scores every installed plugin for overhead, profiles hook callbacks, classifies and fixes autoloaded options, cleans the database with reclaimable-space preview, scans for misconfigurations, and manages debug.log.
Head-to-head
| Capability | Index WP MySQL | WP Multitool |
|---|---|---|
| Captures real queries with timings | ✓ | ✓ |
| Per-query EXPLAIN execution plans | ✗ (stats only: count, mean, P95) | ✓ |
| Index suggestions for YOUR specific slow query | ✗ | ✓ |
| Applies curated compound keys to core tables, one click | ✓ (11 tables, revertible) | ✗ |
| Covers custom / plugin tables | ✗ | ✓ (any logged query) |
| Per-plugin performance score | ✗ | ✓ (static dataset) |
| Autoload classification + fix | ✗ | ✓ |
| DB cleanup | ✗ (deletes nothing) | ✓ |
| Price | Free | $9 Lite, $79 per year Pro |
Where Index WP MySQL For Speed wins
It actually applies the schema change. WP Multitool suggests the index SQL; Index WP MySQL installs a battle-tested key set with one click and can cleanly revert it. That curated set also fixes access patterns no query log would surface individually, because the author designed the keys against how WordPress queries core tables in general, not against one site's log. If your bottleneck is the classic one, a big site grinding on postmeta, usermeta or WooCommerce order-item lookups, this plugin fixes it for free in minutes, and I would recommend it without hesitation. It measures real queries on your real site, which is exactly the right instinct.
Where WP Multitool wins
The verified gap: Index WP MySQL's monitor captures per-query statistics only. Count, total time, mean, spread, P95. It never shows you a MySQL EXPLAIN plan. So it can tell you a query is slow, but not why, and its remedy is limited to the predefined keys on 11 core tables. The moment your slow query comes from a plugin's custom table, a page builder's meta pattern, or anything outside that curated set, you are on your own. WP Multitool EXPLAINs the exact query, tells you whether it is a full scan or a filesort, and suggests the index for it, whatever table it touches. Then there is everything outside the query layer: which plugin is heavy, which callback is slow, what your autoload weighs, whether OPcache and the object cache are actually alive. Index WP MySQL deliberately does none of that; it is a one-job tool that does its one job well.
Which should you use?
Honestly, on a big site, both. They are complementary, not competing.
- Large site, obvious core-table bottleneck (postmeta, usermeta, Woo orders): start with Index WP MySQL. Free, targeted, proven.
- Slow queries you cannot explain, or queries touching non-core tables: WP Multitool. Predefined keys cannot help there; EXPLAIN can.
- You want ongoing backend health, not just an indexing pass: WP Multitool covers the query layer plus the other 17 modules.
- Running both: let Index WP MySQL own the core-table keys, and use WPMT's analyzer to catch what remains. There is no conflict.
The bottom line
Index WP MySQL For Speed is the best free tool for one specific fix, and it shares WP Multitool's core belief that you measure before you optimize. WP Multitool takes the same belief further: EXPLAIN on every slow query, an index suggestion for each, and the rest of the backend covered. Pricing: $9 Lite (one-time, unlimited sites, 11 modules) → $79/yr Pro (1 site) or $199/yr (unlimited sites) with all 18 modules → $499 lifetime (unlimited sites). Details on pricing, and the full landscape is in WP Multitool vs the alternatives.
FAQ
Does Index WP MySQL For Speed show EXPLAIN plans? No. Its query monitor captures per-query statistics only: count, total time, mean, spread and P95. It can tell you a query is slow but not why, and its remedy is a predefined set of high-performance keys for 11 core WordPress and WooCommerce tables. WP Multitool runs MySQL EXPLAIN on each logged slow query and suggests an index for it, whatever table it touches.
Is WP Multitool an Index WP MySQL For Speed alternative? Partly. Both measure real queries and both end at indexes instead of caching over the problem. Index WP MySQL applies its curated core-table keys itself, one click, free, and can revert them. WP Multitool diagnoses per query with EXPLAIN and covers custom and plugin tables the curated set cannot reach, plus 17 modules outside the query layer. On a big site they are complementary rather than competing.
Can Index WP MySQL For Speed and WP Multitool run together? Yes, there is no conflict. A sensible setup is to let Index WP MySQL own the core-table keys (it needs to stay active so WordPress core upgrades do not undo them) and use WP Multitool's Slow Query Analyzer to catch whatever remains, alongside its other modules. WP Multitool Lite is $9 one-time for unlimited sites.