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Jekyll vs Varnish

Based on 11 and 440 real audits

View Jekyll details | View Varnish details
MetricJekyllVarnishWinner
Performance8244Jekyll
Accessibility8889Varnish
Best Practices9989Jekyll
SEO9491Jekyll
Security6365Varnish
TTFB273ms202msVarnish
Composite7974Jekyll
Performance
Jekyll
82
Varnish
44
Accessibility
Jekyll
88
Varnish
89
Security
Jekyll
63
Varnish
65
SEO
Jekyll
94
Varnish
91
Composite
Jekyll
79
Varnish
74

Jekyll outperforms Varnish in 4 of 7 categories, with a stronger composite score (79 vs 74). Varnish leads in accessibility, security, TTFB.

When to choose Jekyll

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

When to choose Varnish

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

How this comparison was built

Scores are medians across 11 audited Jekyll sites and 440 audited Varnish 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, Jekyll or Varnish?
Based on real BeaverCheck audits, Jekyll sites score higher on Lighthouse performance (82 vs 44 on average).
Which has better security, Jekyll or Varnish?
Varnish sites score higher on security analysis (65 vs 63 on average).
Which has better accessibility, Jekyll or Varnish?
Accessibility scores measured by Lighthouse WCAG 2.1 checks favor Varnish (89 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, Jekyll or Varnish?
Jekyll sites score higher on Lighthouse SEO signals (94 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), Jekyll or Varnish?
Varnish sites show lower Time to First Byte (202 ms vs 273 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 Jekyll or Varnish for my website?
Both platforms have trade-offs. Jekyll scores higher on overall composite score while Jekyll 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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