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HSTS vs Smarter Click

Based on 2599 and 2 real audits

View HSTS details | View Smarter Click details
MetricHSTSSmarter ClickWinner
Performance4852Smarter Click
Accessibility8991Smarter Click
Best Practices8894Smarter Click
SEO91100Smarter Click
Security7067HSTS
TTFB365ms328msSmarter Click
Composite7573HSTS
Performance
HSTS
48
Smarter Click
52
Accessibility
HSTS
89
Smarter Click
91
Security
HSTS
70
Smarter Click
67
SEO
HSTS
91
Smarter Click
100
Composite
HSTS
75
Smarter Click
73

Smarter Click outperforms HSTS in 5 of 7 categories, with a stronger composite score (73 vs 75). HSTS leads in security, composite score.

When to choose HSTS

Choose HSTS when your primary concern is security. Its audit data shows consistent strength in these areas across the sampled sites.

When to choose Smarter Click

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

How this comparison was built

Scores are medians across 2599 audited HSTS sites and 2 audited Smarter Click 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 Smarter Click?
Based on real BeaverCheck audits, Smarter Click sites score higher on Lighthouse performance (52 vs 48 on average).
Which has better security, HSTS or Smarter Click?
HSTS sites score higher on security analysis (70 vs 67 on average).
Which has better accessibility, HSTS or Smarter Click?
Accessibility scores measured by Lighthouse WCAG 2.1 checks favor Smarter Click (91 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 Smarter Click?
Smarter Click sites score higher on Lighthouse SEO signals (100 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), HSTS or Smarter Click?
Smarter Click sites show lower Time to First Byte (328 ms vs 365 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 Smarter Click for my website?
Both platforms have trade-offs. Smarter Click 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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