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Fastly vs HSTS

Based on 380 and 2557 real audits

View Fastly details | View HSTS details
MetricFastlyHSTSWinner
Performance4649HSTS
Accessibility9189Fastly
Best Practices8988Fastly
SEO9291Fastly
Security6670HSTS
TTFB148ms364msFastly
Composite7475HSTS
Performance
Fastly
46
HSTS
49
Accessibility
Fastly
91
HSTS
89
Security
Fastly
66
HSTS
70
SEO
Fastly
92
HSTS
91
Composite
Fastly
74
HSTS
75

Fastly outperforms HSTS in 4 of 7 categories, with a stronger composite score (74 vs 75). HSTS leads in performance, security, composite score.

When to choose Fastly

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

When to choose HSTS

Choose HSTS when your primary concern is security and performance. 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 2557 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, Fastly or HSTS?
Based on real BeaverCheck audits, HSTS sites score higher on Lighthouse performance (49 vs 46 on average).
Which has better security, Fastly or HSTS?
HSTS sites score higher on security analysis (70 vs 66 on average).
Which has better accessibility, Fastly or HSTS?
Accessibility scores measured by Lighthouse WCAG 2.1 checks favor Fastly (91 vs 89). 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 HSTS?
Fastly sites score higher on Lighthouse SEO signals (92 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), Fastly or HSTS?
Fastly sites show lower Time to First Byte (148 ms vs 364 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 HSTS for my website?
Both platforms have trade-offs. HSTS 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.
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