After 3 years of testing, let’s compare Lightning Base vs SiteGround and find out how they’ve performed so far…
Lightning Base vs SiteGround – Testing Method
- Prior to testing, I have setup identical content on all 8 Live Test Sites
- Each week over 80,000 speed & uptime tests are run using independent tools, GTmetrix & Pingdom
- Test results below are from 04 Apr 2016 to 22 Dec 2018
Test #1: Speed
The GTmetrix Speed Test checks how long it takes for a website to fully load using a desktop internet browser. This test is then repeated every hour throughout the week (1,340 times).
- Lightning Base’s Speed has been outstanding since it was added in Apr 2017, consistently finding itself in our Top 2 Hosts. It started with a bang by finishing fastest across the first half of 2017, and has continued that good form with 2nd fastest load times across H2 2017 & H1 2018, and 3rd fastest in H2 2018.
- SiteGround’s speed was typically in the bottom half of our hosts during 2016. How things have turned around in 2017 & 2018, with a dramatic improvement to 2nd during the 1st half of 2017. SiteGround have then taken it a step further to be our fastest host in H2 2017, H1 2018 and H2 2018.
- SiteGround is currently 1st, while Lightning Base is 2nd in our Speed Rankings.
H2 2018 Results
H1 2018 Results
H2 2017 Results
H1 2017 Results
Test #2: Uptime
The Pingdom Uptime Test confirms that the website is actually accessible to visitors. This test is then repeated every minute throughout the week (80,640 times).
- Lightning Base have also performed brilliantly when it comes to Uptime, with only 38 minutes of downtime since Apr 17. To put this into perspective, nearly all of our other hosts have experienced more than 38 minutes of downtime in 1 week!!
- SiteGround have performed brilliantly when it comes to Uptime, showing rare consistency for the 3 years we’ve been testing. Their performance in H1 2018 has been their best so far, with just 12 minutes of downtime, while H2 2018 was also impressive with just 23 minutes of downtime.
- Lightning Base is currently 1st and SiteGround is 2nd in our Uptime Rankings.
View the Weekly Uptime Tests
Lightning Base vs SiteGround – Overall Test Results
The Overall Ranking accumulates the results from the speed & uptime tests to determine the #1 Host.
- Lightning Base’s performance has been excellent across the board, and are currently ranked #1 in uptime & #2 in speed tests. They have consistently been in our Top 2 hosts, and have only just missed out on the coveted #1 overall ranking.
- SiteGround’s performance was solid throughout 2016, but has really stepped up across 2017 & 2018. Their uptime consistency has been very impressive plus they have been our fastest host over the past 18 months. These results have led to SiteGround achieving for the first time the coveted #1 Overall Ranking – Congratulations!!
- SiteGround is currently 1st and Lightning Base is 2nd in our Overall Rankings.
Hi, I'm Clint!
