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HSTS vs PWA

Based on 3295 and 153 real audits

View HSTS details | View PWA details
MetricHSTSPWAWinner
Performance5249HSTS
Accessibility9090Tie
Best Practices8987HSTS
SEO9292Tie
Security7372HSTS
TTFB403ms435msHSTS
Composite7878Tie
Performance
HSTS
52
PWA
49
Accessibility
HSTS
90
PWA
90
Security
HSTS
73
PWA
72
SEO
HSTS
92
PWA
92
Composite
HSTS
78
PWA
78

HSTS outperforms PWA in 4 of 7 categories, with a stronger composite score (78 vs 78). PWA leads in no categories.

When to choose HSTS

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

When to choose PWA

PWA doesn't clearly lead HSTS 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 3295 audited HSTS sites and 153 audited PWA 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, HSTS or PWA?
Based on real BeaverCheck audits, HSTS sites score higher on Lighthouse performance (52 vs 49 on average).
Which has better security, HSTS or PWA?
HSTS sites score higher on security analysis (73 vs 72 on average).
Which has better accessibility, HSTS or PWA?
Accessibility scores measured by Lighthouse WCAG 2.1 checks favor HSTS (90 vs 90). 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 PWA?
HSTS sites score higher on Lighthouse SEO signals (92 vs 92 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 PWA?
HSTS sites show lower Time to First Byte (403 ms vs 435 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 PWA 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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