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PHP vs WordPress.com

Based on 1128 and 10 real audits

View PHP details | View WordPress.com details
MetricPHPWordPress.comWinner
Performance4863WordPress.com
Accessibility8990WordPress.com
Best Practices8896WordPress.com
SEO9194WordPress.com
Security6767Tie
TTFB445ms232msWordPress.com
Composite7578WordPress.com
Performance
PHP
48
WordPress.com
63
Accessibility
PHP
89
WordPress.com
90
Security
PHP
67
WordPress.com
67
SEO
PHP
91
WordPress.com
94
Composite
PHP
75
WordPress.com
78

WordPress.com outperforms PHP in 6 of 7 categories, with a stronger composite score (78 vs 75). PHP leads in no categories.

When to choose PHP

PHP doesn't clearly lead WordPress.com in any category on the sampled sites — pick it based on developer experience, ecosystem, or existing team skills rather than the audit scores.

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 1128 audited PHP sites and 10 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, PHP or WordPress.com?
Based on real BeaverCheck audits, WordPress.com sites score higher on Lighthouse performance (63 vs 48 on average).
Which has better security, PHP or WordPress.com?
PHP sites score higher on security analysis (67 vs 67 on average).
Which has better accessibility, PHP or WordPress.com?
Accessibility scores measured by Lighthouse WCAG 2.1 checks favor WordPress.com (90 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, PHP or WordPress.com?
WordPress.com 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), PHP or WordPress.com?
WordPress.com sites show lower Time to First Byte (232 ms vs 445 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 PHP or WordPress.com for my website?
Both platforms have trade-offs. WordPress.com scores higher on overall composite score while PHP 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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