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HSTS vs Less

Based on 2429 and 1 real audits

View HSTS details | View Less details
MetricHSTSLessWinner
Performance4757Less
Accessibility8994Less
Best Practices88100Less
SEO9161HSTS
Security6979Less
TTFB355ms1129msHSTS
Composite7581Less
Performance
HSTS
47
Less
57
Accessibility
HSTS
89
Less
94
Security
HSTS
69
Less
79
SEO
HSTS
91
Less
61
Composite
HSTS
75
Less
81

Less outperforms HSTS in 5 of 7 categories, with a stronger composite score (81 vs 75). HSTS leads in SEO, TTFB.

When to choose HSTS

Choose HSTS 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 Less

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

How this comparison was built

Scores are medians across 2429 audited HSTS sites and 1 audited Less 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 →

Small sample: one or both technologies have fewer than 10 audited sites. Treat these numbers as directional — medians stabilize around 20–30 audits per side.

FAQ

Which is faster, HSTS or Less?
Based on real BeaverCheck audits, Less sites score higher on Lighthouse performance (57 vs 47 on average).
Which has better security, HSTS or Less?
Less sites score higher on security analysis (79 vs 69 on average).
Which has better accessibility, HSTS or Less?
Accessibility scores measured by Lighthouse WCAG 2.1 checks favor Less (94 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, HSTS or Less?
HSTS sites score higher on Lighthouse SEO signals (91 vs 61 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), HSTS or Less?
HSTS sites show lower Time to First Byte (355 ms vs 1129 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 HSTS or Less for my website?
Both platforms have trade-offs. Less scores higher on overall composite score while HSTS 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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