Core Web Vitals in software and SaaS: 248 domains measured
By Christian Schreiber · Updated
Software providers usually come out above average, because their sites are built by developers and use modern frameworks with a good delivery path. Even so, there is a clear gap between the top and the middle of this industry.
For Core Web Vitals, software and SaaS ranks eighth of 18 industries, behind health and medical, ahead of finance and insurance. All medians stay within Google's thresholds, closest to the limit is LCP at 2114 ms against 2500 ms.
Core Web Vitals in software and SaaS
54 percent of the 248 domains measured in this industry pass all three Core Web Vitals with real user data.
| Metric | Industry median | Middle half of the industry | Google threshold |
|---|---|---|---|
| LCP | 2114 ms | 1718 ms – 2944 ms | 2500 ms |
| INP | 120 ms | 89 ms – 178 ms | 200 ms |
| CLS | 0.03 | 0.01 – 0.07 | 0.10 |
Thresholds, sample sizes and anonymisation are explained under Core Web Vitals by industry.
Software and SaaS against every measured domain
| Group | LCP | INP | CLS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software and SaaS | 2503 ms | 151 ms | 0.05 |
| PerfDelta average (4189 domains tested) | 1961 ms | 144 ms | 0.04 |
Platforms in software and SaaS
Share passing all three Core Web Vitals, by platform.
-
Next.js 61%
33 domains on this platform · median 1909 ms, middle half 1660 ms to 2190 ms
-
WordPress 53%
32 domains on this platform · median 2145 ms, middle half 1875 ms to 3073 ms
Three measurements from software and SaaS
Faster quarter, median and slowest quarter, anonymised and rounded.
| Position | LCP | INP | CLS | Mobile score | Platform |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best quarter | 1700 ms | 50 ms | 0.04 | 45 | – |
| Typical | 2100 ms | 200 ms | 0.03 | 40 | – |
| Slowest quarter | 3000 ms | 250 ms | 0.05 | 30 | – |
What usually slows software and SaaS down
Marketing pages for SaaS products frequently ship the entire application framework although the content is static. Product videos and interactive demos sit above the fold on top of that. Separating the marketing site from the application and starting the demo on interaction recovers most of it.
Which software and SaaS pages to test first
Test the pricing page, the main feature page and the signup page. That is where the decision happens, and those pages are often built differently from the blog or documentation, sometimes on a separate system. Documentation deserves a test of its own, because developers reach it from search and judge the product by it.
Which metric is at risk in software and SaaS
INP is the metric most often at risk on SaaS marketing sites, because client-side frameworks hydrate the whole page before it responds, and chat, analytics and product tour scripts join in. LCP depends on whether the hero is server-rendered or painted by JavaScript. Embedded demo videos shift the layout when their containers have no fixed size.
Step-by-step fixes: Website Speed Optimization.
How does your site compare in software and SaaS?
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