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GitHub Pages vs Jekyll

Based on 29 and 11 real audits

View GitHub Pages details | View Jekyll details
MetricGitHub PagesJekyllWinner
Performance7682Jekyll
Accessibility8988GitHub Pages
Best Practices9599Jekyll
SEO9694GitHub Pages
Security6463GitHub Pages
TTFB158ms273msGitHub Pages
Composite7879Jekyll
Performance
GitHub Pages
76
Jekyll
82
Accessibility
GitHub Pages
89
Jekyll
88
Security
GitHub Pages
64
Jekyll
63
SEO
GitHub Pages
96
Jekyll
94
Composite
GitHub Pages
78
Jekyll
79

GitHub Pages outperforms Jekyll in 4 of 7 categories, with a stronger composite score (78 vs 79). Jekyll leads in performance, best practices, composite score.

When to choose GitHub Pages

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

When to choose Jekyll

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

How this comparison was built

Scores are medians across 29 audited GitHub Pages sites and 11 audited Jekyll 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, GitHub Pages or Jekyll?
Based on real BeaverCheck audits, Jekyll sites score higher on Lighthouse performance (82 vs 76 on average).
Which has better security, GitHub Pages or Jekyll?
GitHub Pages sites score higher on security analysis (64 vs 63 on average).
Which has better accessibility, GitHub Pages or Jekyll?
Accessibility scores measured by Lighthouse WCAG 2.1 checks favor GitHub Pages (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, GitHub Pages or Jekyll?
GitHub Pages sites score higher on Lighthouse SEO signals (96 vs 94 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), GitHub Pages or Jekyll?
GitHub Pages sites show lower Time to First Byte (158 ms vs 273 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 GitHub Pages or Jekyll for my website?
Both platforms have trade-offs. Jekyll scores higher on overall composite score while GitHub Pages 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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