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GitHub Pages vs Varnish

Based on 35 and 451 real audits

View GitHub Pages details | View Varnish details
MetricGitHub PagesVarnishWinner
Performance7544GitHub Pages
Accessibility9089GitHub Pages
Best Practices9589GitHub Pages
SEO9691GitHub Pages
Security6766GitHub Pages
TTFB182ms202msGitHub Pages
Composite7874GitHub Pages
Performance
GitHub Pages
75
Varnish
44
Accessibility
GitHub Pages
90
Varnish
89
Security
GitHub Pages
67
Varnish
66
SEO
GitHub Pages
96
Varnish
91
Composite
GitHub Pages
78
Varnish
74

GitHub Pages outperforms Varnish in 7 of 7 categories, with a stronger composite score (78 vs 74). Varnish leads in no categories.

When to choose GitHub Pages

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

When to choose Varnish

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

How this comparison was built

Scores are medians across 35 audited GitHub Pages sites and 451 audited Varnish 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 Varnish?
Based on real BeaverCheck audits, GitHub Pages sites score higher on Lighthouse performance (75 vs 44 on average).
Which has better security, GitHub Pages or Varnish?
GitHub Pages sites score higher on security analysis (67 vs 66 on average).
Which has better accessibility, GitHub Pages or Varnish?
Accessibility scores measured by Lighthouse WCAG 2.1 checks favor GitHub Pages (90 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, GitHub Pages or Varnish?
GitHub Pages sites score higher on Lighthouse SEO signals (96 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), GitHub Pages or Varnish?
GitHub Pages sites show lower Time to First Byte (182 ms vs 202 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 Varnish for my website?
Both platforms have trade-offs. GitHub Pages 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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