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Amazon CloudFront vs HSTS

Based on 435 and 2936 real audits

View Amazon CloudFront details | View HSTS details
MetricAmazon CloudFrontHSTSWinner
Performance3951HSTS
Accessibility8889HSTS
Best Practices8788HSTS
SEO9191Tie
Security6672HSTS
TTFB261ms373msAmazon CloudFront
Composite7376HSTS
Performance
Amazon CloudFront
39
HSTS
51
Accessibility
Amazon CloudFront
88
HSTS
89
Security
Amazon CloudFront
66
HSTS
72
SEO
Amazon CloudFront
91
HSTS
91
Composite
Amazon CloudFront
73
HSTS
76

HSTS outperforms Amazon CloudFront in 5 of 7 categories, with a stronger composite score (76 vs 73). Amazon CloudFront leads in TTFB.

When to choose Amazon CloudFront

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

When to choose HSTS

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

How this comparison was built

Scores are medians across 435 audited Amazon CloudFront sites and 2936 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, Amazon CloudFront or HSTS?
Based on real BeaverCheck audits, HSTS sites score higher on Lighthouse performance (51 vs 39 on average).
Which has better security, Amazon CloudFront or HSTS?
HSTS sites score higher on security analysis (72 vs 66 on average).
Which has better accessibility, Amazon CloudFront 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, Amazon CloudFront or HSTS?
Amazon CloudFront sites score higher on Lighthouse SEO signals (91 vs 91 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), Amazon CloudFront or HSTS?
Amazon CloudFront sites show lower Time to First Byte (261 ms vs 373 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 Amazon CloudFront or HSTS for my website?
Both platforms have trade-offs. HSTS scores higher on overall composite score while Amazon CloudFront 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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