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Akamai vs HSTS

Based on 52 and 2488 real audits

View Akamai details | View HSTS details
MetricAkamaiHSTSWinner
Performance3548HSTS
Accessibility8889HSTS
Best Practices8487HSTS
SEO8791HSTS
Security6369HSTS
TTFB814ms354msHSTS
Composite7175HSTS
Performance
Akamai
35
HSTS
48
Accessibility
Akamai
88
HSTS
89
Security
Akamai
63
HSTS
69
SEO
Akamai
87
HSTS
91
Composite
Akamai
71
HSTS
75

HSTS outperforms Akamai in 7 of 7 categories, with a stronger composite score (75 vs 71). Akamai leads in no categories.

When to choose Akamai

Akamai doesn't clearly lead HSTS in any category on the sampled sites — pick it based on developer experience, ecosystem, or existing team skills rather than the audit scores.

When to choose HSTS

Choose HSTS when your primary concern is server response time and performance. Its audit data shows consistent strength in these areas across the sampled sites.

How this comparison was built

Scores are medians across 52 audited Akamai sites and 2488 audited HSTS sites in the BeaverCheck database. Every audit runs the same 100+ checks — Lighthouse performance, security headers, accessibility, SEO, server response time — against a real URL. No vendor input, no sponsorship, no affiliate links. Read the full methodology →

FAQ

Which is faster, Akamai or HSTS?
Based on real BeaverCheck audits, HSTS sites score higher on Lighthouse performance (48 vs 35 on average).
Which has better security, Akamai or HSTS?
HSTS sites score higher on security analysis (69 vs 63 on average).
Which has better accessibility, Akamai or HSTS?
Accessibility scores measured by Lighthouse WCAG 2.1 checks favor HSTS (89 vs 88). Both technologies can be made fully accessible with care — the difference reflects common patterns in the sampled sites, not inherent platform limits.
Which is better for SEO, Akamai or HSTS?
HSTS sites score higher on Lighthouse SEO signals (91 vs 87 on average), which cover meta tags, crawlability, mobile friendliness, and structured data. Content strategy and backlinks still matter more than platform choice for ranking.
Which has faster server response (TTFB), Akamai or HSTS?
HSTS sites show lower Time to First Byte (354 ms vs 814 ms on average). TTFB depends heavily on hosting and CDN setup rather than the technology itself, but the sampled sites suggest a meaningful difference in common deployment patterns.
Should I choose Akamai or HSTS for my website?
Both platforms have trade-offs. HSTS scores higher on overall composite score while Akamai may excel in metrics you care about most. Run a free BeaverCheck audit on a real site using each to compare the metrics relevant to your use case.
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