Hosting speed affects both user experience and Google rankings (Core Web Vitals), yet providers rarely show honest numbers. So in June 2026 we independently measured the response time (TTFB — time to first byte) of 31 hosting providers from our ranking. Below are the headline results; the full dataset and method are open on our tests page.
31 providers, 3 measurements each (minimum taken), June 2026. Market median TTFB is 1121 ms. The fastest start at 373 ms. The gap between leaders and laggards is several-fold.
What we measured and how
- TTFB (time to first byte) — the key indicator of live server speed
- Full HTML load time, HTTP version (2/1.1) and TLS handshake time
- 3 measurements per host via curl; the minimum (most honest) result is used
- 31 providers from our ranking; a few sites behind a WAF couldn't be measured — noted honestly
The method is deliberately simple and reproducible: anyone can repeat the measurements with the same tool and get comparable numbers. No 'synthetic scores' — just raw milliseconds.
Headline results
- Market median TTFB is 1121 ms. Half the hosts are faster, half slower than that mark.
- The fastest platform overall is the Bunny.net CDN (373 ms), then Railway PaaS (402 ms): a different architecture (edge / containers) gives the edge.
- Among classic hosts the leader is HostIQ (421 ms), then Friendhosting (602 ms) and Zomro (702 ms).
- Overseas clouds are strong too: DigitalOcean (812 ms), Hostinger (831 ms), Contabo (968 ms).
- All leaders run HTTP/2 — already an industry standard.
Top 10 by response time (TTFB)
- 1. Bunny.net — 373 ms (CDN)
- 2. Railway — 402 ms (PaaS)
- 3. HostIQ — 421 ms
- 4. Friendhosting — 602 ms
- 5. Zomro — 702 ms
- 6. DigitalOcean — 812 ms
- 7. Hostinger — 831 ms
- 8. GoVPSFX — 937 ms
- 9. FreeHost — 942 ms
- 10. AdminVPS — 958 ms
TTFB below ~500 ms is excellent, 500–1000 ms is good, above 1500 ms is worth a look. But a single measurement is a snapshot: real speed depends on plan, location and load. That's why we refresh the data monthly.
What it means for choosing a host
A fast TTFB is necessary but not sufficient. Also look at data-centre location (closer to your audience = lower ping), disk type (NVMe), uptime and support. For a Ukrainian project, sites in Ukraine or the nearest EU are usually optimal. The full ranking with filters is in our VPS catalog, and how we score providers overall is on the methodology page.
We don't sell ranking spots. The tests are raw milliseconds anyone can verify. That's why we publish the method and measurement date next to the numbers.
Tophosting editorial
Open data
The full table of all 31 providers (TTFB, full load, HTTP, TLS), the measurement date and the method description are on the speed tests page. The data is refreshed monthly. If you're a journalist, blogger or host owner, feel free to cite this dataset; a source mention is appreciated.
Bottom line
The speed gap between hosts is several-fold, and marketing won't help — choose by the numbers. Among classic hosts our measurements put HostIQ first; among Ukrainian ones Friendhosting and Zomro are also fast. Cross-check with the full ranking and tests, and pick for your audience and budget.
