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HSTS vs WordPress.com

Based on 3294 and 15 real audits

View HSTS details | View WordPress.com details
MetricHSTSWordPress.comWinner
Performance5259WordPress.com
Accessibility9090Tie
Best Practices8996WordPress.com
SEO9296WordPress.com
Security7369HSTS
TTFB403ms393msWordPress.com
Composite7878Tie
Performance
HSTS
52
WordPress.com
59
Accessibility
HSTS
90
WordPress.com
90
Security
HSTS
73
WordPress.com
69
SEO
HSTS
92
WordPress.com
96
Composite
HSTS
78
WordPress.com
78

WordPress.com outperforms HSTS in 4 of 7 categories, with a stronger composite score (78 vs 78). HSTS leads in security.

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 WordPress.com

Choose WordPress.com when your primary concern is server response time and performance. 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 15 audited WordPress.com 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 WordPress.com?
Based on real BeaverCheck audits, WordPress.com sites score higher on Lighthouse performance (59 vs 52 on average).
Which has better security, HSTS or WordPress.com?
HSTS sites score higher on security analysis (73 vs 69 on average).
Which has better accessibility, HSTS or WordPress.com?
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 WordPress.com?
WordPress.com sites score higher on Lighthouse SEO signals (96 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 WordPress.com?
WordPress.com sites show lower Time to First Byte (393 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 WordPress.com for my website?
Both platforms have trade-offs. WordPress.com 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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