Same site. Same theme. Same plugins. Installed fresh on four different hosts — then hammered with speed tests. No opinions. Just numbers.
Each host gets the same WordPress install, same theme, same plugins, same sample content — then we run identical speed tests from the same location.
10 test runs per host, averaged. Tested from Portland, OR via Google PageSpeed Insights + GTmetrix.
| Rank | Host | TTFB (avg) | FCP | LCP | PSI Mobile | PSI Desktop | Price/mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — |
WP Engine
Starter · Queued
|
– | – | – | – | $25 | |
| — |
Cloudways
DO 2GB · Testing
|
– | – | – | – | $14 | |
| — |
EasyBlogNetwork
Starter · Testing
|
– | – | – | – | $5 | |
| — |
GoDaddy
Managed WP · Queued
|
– | – | – | – | $10 |
All tests run 10× and averaged. TTFB = time to first byte. FCP = first contentful paint. LCP = largest contentful paint. PSI scores from Google PageSpeed Insights.
Controlled, repeatable, and honest. Every variable we can hold constant, we do.
Identical WordPress install on every host — same theme (Twenty Twenty-Four), same plugins, same posts, same images. The only variable is the host.
Each host gets 10 test runs via Google PageSpeed Insights API and GTmetrix, run within the same two-hour window to control for time-of-day variance.
All tests fire from the same geographic origin (Portland, OR). No CDN edge testing — we measure origin server speed, as a new visitor with an empty cache would see.
First run, no warmup, no caching plugins beyond what each host provides out of the box. This tests what a real cold visitor experiences, not best-case cached load.
No referral commissions. No sponsored placements. Every host pays the same — nothing. Rankings follow the data, not revenue.
Hosts get re-tested every quarter. Prices, plans, and infrastructure change. We retest rather than letting stale results mislead. Each round is labeled with month + year.
Every host gets this exact stack, zero customization beyond what their onboarding wizard installs automatically.
Drop your email and we'll send you the Round 1 breakdown the moment testing wraps up. One email. No drip campaigns.