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HSTS vs Less

Based on 3294 and 3 real audits

View HSTS details | View Less details
MetricHSTSLessWinner
Performance5248HSTS
Accessibility9088HSTS
Best Practices8993Less
SEO9281HSTS
Security7377Less
TTFB403ms798msHSTS
Composite7880Less
Performance
HSTS
52
Less
48
Accessibility
HSTS
90
Less
88
Security
HSTS
73
Less
77
SEO
HSTS
92
Less
81
Composite
HSTS
78
Less
80

HSTS outperforms Less in 4 of 7 categories, with a stronger composite score (78 vs 80). Less leads in best practices, security, composite score.

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 security. Its audit data shows consistent strength in these areas across the sampled sites.

How this comparison was built

Scores are medians across 3294 audited HSTS sites and 3 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, HSTS sites score higher on Lighthouse performance (52 vs 48 on average).
Which has better security, HSTS or Less?
Less sites score higher on security analysis (77 vs 73 on average).
Which has better accessibility, HSTS or Less?
Accessibility scores measured by Lighthouse WCAG 2.1 checks favor HSTS (90 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, HSTS or Less?
HSTS sites score higher on Lighthouse SEO signals (92 vs 81 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 (403 ms vs 798 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. HSTS 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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