The Performance Inequality Gap, 2026

Modern websites have grown dramatically larger—the median mobile page now weighs 2.6 MiB, surpassing even the classic video game DOOM—despite performance budgets recommending only 1.2-2.3 MiB for JavaScript-heavy sites on typical 2026 networks. This bloat, driven largely by doubled JavaScript payloads since 2015, has created a performance inequality crisis, with less than half of websites meeting Core Web Vitals standards and progress plateauing across both mobile and desktop users.