WebHostingCat.com tested multiple WordPress hosting providers to find the fastest. The results were not what most people would expect!
We tested using the following criteria:
I believe our testing methodology gives us the truest picture of how fast a WordPress hosting provider is out of the box. Therefore, you get a better idea of just how well your speed foundation operates.
Kinsta was the best overall performer with the most consistent excellent results. Kinsta has long been known as one of the premier premium managed WordPress hosting providers. All of their hosting plans include Advanced Caching, Isolated Container Infrastructure, CDN, and built-in Optimization Tools for improved load times and image optimization. If site speed and performance are your top priority, then Kinsta should be at the top of your list. They are the winner here.
We tested Kinsta’s speed and performance via GTmetrix. And, we also performed load testing with loader.io. Here are the results from GTmetrix.
Performance: 100%
Structure: 100%
Fully Loaded Time: 444ms
First Contentful Paint (FCP): 342ms
Speed Index: 344ms
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): 342ms
Time to Interactive: 342ms
Total Blocking Time: 0ms
Cumulative Layout Shift: 0
Time to First Byte: 77ms
Kinsta’s speed and performance here was not only excellent, but almost perfect! Core Web Vitals were outstanding with just about an instantaneous fully loaded time score.
Performance: 100%
Structure: 98%
Fully Loaded Time: 695ms
First Contentful Paint (FCP): 533ms
Speed Index: 533ms
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): 533ms
Time to Interactive: 533ms
Total Blocking Time: 0ms
Cumulative Layout Shift: 0
Time to First Byte: 191ms
Kinsta’s scores here were also very impressive—just a tick above the previous region. But again speed and Core Web Vitals were excellent with a very low TTFB.
Performance: 100%
Structure: 98%
Fully Loaded Time: 624ms
First Contentful Paint (FCP): 237ms
Speed Index: 248ms
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): 251ms
Time to Interactive: 237ms
Total Blocking Time: 0ms
Cumulative Layout Shift: 0
Time to First Byte: 70ms
Again, Kinsta was outstanding here. Core Web Vitals were even better with a blistering TTFB of 70ms.
After thorough testing, Kinsta was by far the fastest WordPress hosting provider. They received top scores that confirmed super fast server response times and almost instantaneous page loading.
Next, we performed load testing to see how well the WordPress hosts held up during significant traffic periods. Again, Kinsta was our best performer.
Response Times:
32ms Avg.
228ms Max
Extremely Fast
Top-Tier Performance
Requests Being Served Almost Instantly
No Backend Strain Visible
Reliability:
100% Success Rate
No Timeouts
Throughput:
100MB Delivered
1000 Requests Handled
No Network Bottlenecks
Smooth Delivery Pipeline
As you can see from the above results, Kinsta is outstanding for WordPress site speed and load handling. For mission-critical websites and WordPress agencies in particular, Kinsta is our top recommendation. See our full review on Kinsta here.
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Here is how our top WordPress hosting providers compare regarding speed and performance. Hosts are ranked based on overall performance and not just on any one metric.
| Host | TTFB | Load Time | LCP | Uptime | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kinsta | 77ms | 444ms | 342ms | 99.99% | Fastest |
| InMotion Hosting | 144ms | 424ms | 423ms | 99.99% | Best Budget |
| ScalaHosting | 237ms | 492ms | 446ms | 99.9% | Best Cloud VPS |
| Liquid Web | 409ms | 628ms | 624ms | 100% SLA | Best WooCommerce |
Though all of these web hosts performed well in individual tests, Kinsta delivered the most consistent real-world speed and load handling throughout.
For simpler WordPress websites and those on a tighter budget, InMotion Hosting was actually faster than some more expensive web hosts. In fact, InMotion posted the best numbers of any non-managed WordPress or Shared Hosting provider we tested. And, InMotion Hosting also posted good load testing results. See our full review on InMotion Hosting here.
If you specifically need Cloud VPS hosting for better resource availability, then consider using ScalaHosting. ScalaHosting’s Managed Cloud Platform provides scalable resources, built-in redundancy, and fast optimized servers. See our full review on ScalaHosting here.
DreamHost – Slow page loading and core web vitals. Terrible user interface.
Pressable – Slower speeds on larger established sites.
Rocket.net – Good CWVs, but slow fully loaded page times.
WP Engine – Very slow to adopt new PHP versions. Inconsistent site speeds.
WPX Hosting – As with Pressable, speed on larger sites was slow.
So, what actually makes a web hosting provider fast? Since most speed differences come from infrastructure, you should look for a web host that provides the following:
Your server response time is the most important factor in getting a faster website. Definitely look for a WordPress hosting provider that provides low TTFB and other impressive Core Web Vitals.
Your web host should also include advanced server caching, as opposed to just caching from a plugin. If you have a resource intensive site, opt for cloud infrastructure hosting as opposed to shared hosting where resources may be strained.
And, a content delivery network (CDN) definitely makes a difference in page loading times if your site audience is scattered around the world.
At this point, I should point out that there are many fake reviews out there that are biased and don’t include any real testing. Rest assured that the recommendations in my article here are totally data driven from our actual testing—that you can see from the data I’ve included above.
In addition to our transparent testing, I’ve been trying out and reviewing web hosting providers for over 15 years now. So, I believe I have a good handle on which ones provide the fastest and best performance.
What is the fastest WordPress hosting?
Kinsta is the fastest WordPress hosts based on all of our speed and load testing.
Does hosting affect website speed?
Yes. Hosting is your foundation. It controls you server response time. With a slow server, no amount of optimization is going to fix things.
What is a good load time?
Ideally, you want your site to load in less than 2 seconds.
Is shared hosting fast enough?
Usually not for performance-focused sites. If you have a simpler WordPress site, then it may be okay.
What affects WordPress Speed the most?
Your web hosting and server response.
If speed is your number one priority, Kinsta is the best choice based on our real test data. In our study, Kinsta delivered the best site speed, core web vitals, and load handling among all of the WordPress hosts we tested.
While Kinsta isn’t the cheapest WordPress host, that’s a good thing here, as the high-performance hosting you receive is worth the cost. However, they are currently offering 2 months free with their annual plans. Click below to check it out.
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