hCaptcha vs McAfee SECURE: Shopify Performance Comparison
McAfee SECURE wins with Grade A vs Grade C — a significant performance difference that compounds on mobile devices.
Both apps provide trust badges and security signals functionality for Shopify stores. This page presents StackConflict’s independent lab results for both — measured in a clean-room environment with no other apps installed.
Head-to-Head Metrics
| Metric | hCaptcha | McAfee SECURE | Faster |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | C | A | McAfee SECURE |
| JS Payload | 307.74 KB | 5.42 KB | McAfee SECURE |
| CPU Desktop | 53 ms | 5 ms | McAfee SECURE |
| CPU Mobile | 234 ms | 19 ms | McAfee SECURE |
| Layout Shift | 0.0 | 0.0 | hCaptcha |
Mobile CPU measured with 4× CDP throttle (mid-range Android). Tested 2026-05-30.
McAfee SECURE — The Faster Option (Grade A)
McAfee SECURE scores Grade A with a JS payload of 5.42 KB and 5 ms desktop CPU execution. Mobile CPU: 19 ms. It passes every StackConflict threshold for payload, CPU, and layout stability — making it safe to install on any storefront including mobile-first stores where Time-to-Interactive directly impacts conversion.
View full McAfee SECURE speed report →
hCaptcha — The Heavier Option (Grade C)
hCaptcha scores Grade C with a JS payload of 307.74 KB and 53 ms desktop CPU execution. Mobile CPU: 234 ms. This places it in the heavier half of StackConflict’s benchmark dataset — merchants running mobile-first stores should evaluate whether the feature value justifies the performance tradeoff.
View full hCaptcha speed report →
When to Choose hCaptcha
- Its unique feature set has no lighter equivalent in StackConflict’s database
- Your store traffic is predominantly desktop
- You have already removed or lightened other heavy scripts to compensate
When to Choose McAfee SECURE
- You are running a mobile-heavy store and Core Web Vitals matter
- You want to stack multiple apps without worrying about combined JS cost
- Conversion rate optimisation is a key priority
Performance Verdict
Winner: McAfee SECURE — McAfee SECURE wins with Grade A vs Grade C — a significant performance difference that compounds on mobile devices.
About This Test
StackConflict measures each Shopify app in an isolated clean-room environment — a single development store, no other scripts, Playwright-controlled browser. V8 CPU cost is the ScriptDuration delta before and after injection. CLS is captured from the same browser session. Results represent the median of three independent runs with outliers removed.
Data from the StackConflict Lab. Last updated 2026-05-30.