How we cut global TTFB to 58ms
Ravi Kapoor · Principal Engineer
Jun 12, 2026 · 8 min read
Time to First Byte (TTFB) is the single most underrated performance metric. It captures everything between a user's request and the first byte of a response — DNS, TLS, routing and origin processing. Shaving it down has an outsized effect on perceived speed.
The anycast foundation
We announce the same IP prefix from all 14 datacenters. BGP naturally routes each visitor to the topologically nearest edge, eliminating cross-continent round trips before a request even reaches our stack.
Caching everything that's safe to cache
Static assets, API GET responses with proper cache headers, and even personalized fragments via edge-side includes are all served from memory at the edge. Origins only see the small fraction of truly dynamic traffic.
"The fastest request is the one that never reaches your origin."
Results
Median global TTFB dropped from 210ms to 58ms — a 72% improvement — while origin load fell by 84%. Faster sites, lower bills, happier users.