Skip to content

Fastly vs GOV.UK Frontend

Based on 380 and 13 real audits

View Fastly details | View GOV.UK Frontend details
MetricFastlyGOV.UK FrontendWinner
Performance4675GOV.UK Frontend
Accessibility9199GOV.UK Frontend
Best Practices89100GOV.UK Frontend
SEO9298GOV.UK Frontend
Security6678GOV.UK Frontend
TTFB148ms216msFastly
Composite7484GOV.UK Frontend
Performance
Fastly
46
GOV.UK Frontend
75
Accessibility
Fastly
91
GOV.UK Frontend
99
Security
Fastly
66
GOV.UK Frontend
78
SEO
Fastly
92
GOV.UK Frontend
98
Composite
Fastly
74
GOV.UK Frontend
84

GOV.UK Frontend outperforms Fastly in 6 of 7 categories, with a stronger composite score (84 vs 74). Fastly leads in TTFB.

When to choose Fastly

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

When to choose GOV.UK Frontend

Choose GOV.UK Frontend 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 380 audited Fastly sites and 13 audited GOV.UK Frontend 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, Fastly or GOV.UK Frontend?
Based on real BeaverCheck audits, GOV.UK Frontend sites score higher on Lighthouse performance (75 vs 46 on average).
Which has better security, Fastly or GOV.UK Frontend?
GOV.UK Frontend sites score higher on security analysis (78 vs 66 on average).
Which has better accessibility, Fastly or GOV.UK Frontend?
Accessibility scores measured by Lighthouse WCAG 2.1 checks favor GOV.UK Frontend (99 vs 91). 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, Fastly or GOV.UK Frontend?
GOV.UK Frontend sites score higher on Lighthouse SEO signals (98 vs 92 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), Fastly or GOV.UK Frontend?
Fastly sites show lower Time to First Byte (148 ms vs 216 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 Fastly or GOV.UK Frontend for my website?
Both platforms have trade-offs. GOV.UK Frontend scores higher on overall composite score while Fastly 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.
Audit your own site

Send Feedback