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Which web server is better for your site?

LiteSpeed vs Apache

A detailed comparison of the LiteSpeed and Apache web servers across 10 key criteria: speed, HTTP/3, caching, PHP performance, WordPress optimization, security and scalability.

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LiteSpeed or Apache — which web server?

LiteSpeed is the dominant choice for 2026: 12x faster for PHP (0.094s vs 0.376s Apache), 6x faster for static content, TTFB under 100ms vs 450-500ms on Apache. It uses an event-driven architecture (6x lower RAM usage — 50MB vs 200MB). Fully .htaccess compatible (a drop-in replacement for Apache). Built-in LSCache removes the need for Varnish. Native HTTP/3 and QUIC. WordPress with LSCache reaches 69,618 RPS vs 826 on Apache. BeoHosting uses LiteSpeed Enterprise.

  • LiteSpeed is 12x faster for PHP than Apache
  • TTFB: <100ms (LSCache) vs 450-500ms
  • RAM: 50MB vs 200MB (6x less)
  • .htaccess drop-in compatible
  • LSCache + HTTP/3 + QUIC natively

BeoHosting Team

10+ years of experience — Web hosting and infrastructure specialists

Last updated:

LiteSpeed and Apache - What is the difference?

Apache HTTP Server is the best-known web server in the world, powering sites since 1995 and long the industry standard. In recent years, however, the LiteSpeed Web Server has become a serious contender thanks to dramatically better performance and modern features such as HTTP/3 and built-in caching.

The key difference is in the architecture: Apache uses a process-based model where each connection gets its own process or thread, which consumes a lot of memory with many simultaneous visitors. LiteSpeed uses an event-driven architecture that handles thousands of connections with minimal resource usage - similar to Nginx, but with full Apache compatibility.

BeoHosting uses LiteSpeed Enterprise on all hosting plans, which means your sites automatically gain all the benefits of this more modern web server - from faster page loading to advanced security.

Comparison table: LiteSpeed vs Apache

A direct comparison of 10 key criteria between the LiteSpeed and Apache web servers.

Criterion
LiteSpeed
Apache
Speed (static content)
Up to 5x faster
Baseline
HTTP/3 and QUIC support
Yes (native)
No (module required)
Built-in cache
Yes (LSCache)
No (needs mod_cache)
.htaccess compatibility
Full
Native support
Resource usage (RAM)
Low (~50 MB)
High (~200+ MB)
Security (anti-DDoS)
Built-in protection
Modules required
PHP performance (LSAPI)
LSAPI (fastest)
mod_php / PHP-FPM
WordPress optimization
LiteSpeed Cache plugin
Generic plugins
Price
Commercial license
Free (open source)
Scalability
Event-driven (excellent)
Process/thread (limited)

LiteSpeed Web Server - Strengths and capabilities

The LiteSpeed Web Server is developed by LiteSpeed Technologies and comes in two editions: OpenLiteSpeed (free, open source) and LiteSpeed Enterprise (commercial license with advanced features). At BeoHosting we use the Enterprise edition, which provides all the advanced functionality.

The key strengths of LiteSpeed are: LSAPI (LiteSpeed Server API), the fastest way to execute PHP - up to 50% faster than PHP-FPM and mod_php. LSCache - a built-in caching system at the server level that removes the need for external solutions such as Varnish. HTTP/3 and QUIC - the latest protocols that reduce latency and speed up page loading, especially on mobile networks.

For WordPress users, LiteSpeed offers the free LiteSpeed Cache plugin, the most advanced cache plugin on the market. It communicates directly with the server and delivers features that generic cache plugins on Apache cannot match: full page caching with ESI (Edge Side Includes), automatic image conversion to WebP and AVIF, database optimization and integration with the QUIC.cloud CDN.

Apache HTTP Server - When is it still a good choice?

Apache is not a bad web server - it is a proven, stable solution with a huge community and documentation. For certain scenarios, Apache can still be a good choice: if you rely on specific Apache modules that have no LiteSpeed equivalent, if you have legacy applications that depend on mod_php, or if you prefer a fully free solution with no commercial licenses.

However, for most modern websites - especially WordPress sites, PHP applications and high-traffic sites - LiteSpeed delivers significantly better performance while remaining fully compatible with Apache configuration. Switching from Apache to LiteSpeed requires no changes to your site, because LiteSpeed natively reads .htaccess files and supports all standard Apache modules.

Benchmark results: LiteSpeed vs Apache

Independent benchmark tests consistently show a significant advantage for LiteSpeed over Apache. Here are the average results on a typical WordPress site with the WooCommerce plugin:

Requests/second

LiteSpeed: 12,000+
Apache: ~2,000
6x faster

TTFB (Time to First Byte)

LiteSpeed: ~45ms
Apache: ~250ms
5.5x faster

RAM usage

LiteSpeed: ~50 MB
Apache: ~200 MB
4x less

When to choose LiteSpeed, and when Apache?

Choose LiteSpeed when:

  • You use WordPress or WooCommerce
  • You want the best PHP performance
  • You need the HTTP/3 and QUIC protocol
  • You have a high-traffic site
  • You want built-in server-side caching
  • You need anti-DDoS protection
BeoHosting with LiteSpeed

Apache can be a good fit if:

  • You use specific Apache modules
  • You have legacy applications with mod_php
  • Budget is your main priority
  • You need a fully free solution
  • You manage the server yourself
  • The site has low traffic

Related pages and comparisons

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Frequently asked questions: LiteSpeed vs Apache

Answers to the most common questions about our services.

Yes, LiteSpeed is on average 6-12 times faster than Apache for dynamic PHP content and up to 5 times faster for static content. The reason lies in the architecture: LiteSpeed uses an event-driven approach that handles thousands of connections simultaneously with minimal memory usage, while Apache spawns a separate thread or process for each connection, which consumes significantly more resources.

Yes, LiteSpeed is fully compatible with Apache .htaccess files. This means you can switch from Apache to LiteSpeed without any changes to your site configuration. Redirect rules, directory protection, mod_rewrite and other .htaccess directives work identically on both servers.

LiteSpeed is definitely the better choice for WordPress. The LiteSpeed Cache plugin for WordPress is the most advanced cache plugin, communicating directly with the server and providing full page caching, automatic image optimization to WebP, lazy loading, CSS/JS minification and integration with the QUIC.cloud CDN. Apache has no equivalent plugin with server-level integration.

BeoHosting uses LiteSpeed Enterprise on all shared, WordPress and business hosting plans. This is the commercial edition of LiteSpeed with advanced features such as HTTP/3, the QUIC protocol, advanced caching and anti-DDoS protection. BeoHosting customers automatically receive all the benefits of LiteSpeed at no extra cost.

Apache is completely free and open source. LiteSpeed comes in two editions: OpenLiteSpeed (free, open source) with core features, and LiteSpeed Enterprise (commercial license) with advanced features such as cPanel integration, HTTP/3 and anti-DDoS protection. At BeoHosting we use LiteSpeed Enterprise, whose license is included in the hosting price.

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