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HSTS vs Substack

Based on 3294 and 2 real audits

View HSTS details | View Substack details
MetricHSTSSubstackWinner
Performance5246HSTS
Accessibility9072HSTS
Best Practices8977HSTS
SEO9292Tie
Security7362HSTS
TTFB403ms228msSubstack
Composite7873HSTS
Performance
HSTS
52
Substack
46
Accessibility
HSTS
90
Substack
72
Security
HSTS
73
Substack
62
SEO
HSTS
92
Substack
92
Composite
HSTS
78
Substack
73

HSTS outperforms Substack in 5 of 7 categories, with a stronger composite score (78 vs 73). Substack leads in TTFB.

When to choose HSTS

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

When to choose Substack

Choose Substack when your primary concern is server response time. 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 2 audited Substack 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 Substack?
Based on real BeaverCheck audits, HSTS sites score higher on Lighthouse performance (52 vs 46 on average).
Which has better security, HSTS or Substack?
HSTS sites score higher on security analysis (73 vs 62 on average).
Which has better accessibility, HSTS or Substack?
Accessibility scores measured by Lighthouse WCAG 2.1 checks favor HSTS (90 vs 72). 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 Substack?
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 Substack?
Substack sites show lower Time to First Byte (228 ms vs 403 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 Substack 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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