---
title: "What is largest contentful paint (LCP)?"
description: "LCP measures loading performance. Learn what it is, thresholds, and how to improve your score."
canonical_url: "https://unlighthouse.dev/glossary/lcp"
last_updated: "2026-08-10T04:33:19.129Z"
---

<interactive-lcp-timeline>



</interactive-lcp-timeline>

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) measures how long it takes for the largest visible element to render. It's one of Google's three [Core Web Vitals](/glossary) and directly impacts search rankings.

## Thresholds

<table>
<thead>
  <tr>
    <th>
      Score
    </th>
    
    <th>
      Rating
    </th>
  </tr>
</thead>

<tbody>
  <tr>
    <td>
      ≤ 2.5s
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Good
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      2.5s - 4.0s
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Needs Improvement
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      > 4.0s
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Poor
    </td>
  </tr>
</tbody>
</table>

Aim for a score of 2.5 seconds or less at the 75th percentile of page loads to pass the [Google threshold](https://web.dev/articles/lcp).

## What triggers LCP

LCP tracks when the largest image, video poster, or text block renders. [73% of mobile pages have an image as their LCP element](https://almanac.httparchive.org/en/2024/performance).

## Why it matters

LCP is the [hardest Core Web Vital to pass](https://almanac.httparchive.org/en/2024/performance) - only 59% of mobile pages achieve good scores. [Vodafone improved LCP by 31% and saw 8% more sales](https://web.dev/case-studies/vitals-business-impact).

## Common issues

- Slow server response ([TTFB](/glossary/ttfb))
- Render-blocking CSS/JavaScript
- Large unoptimized images
- Client-side rendering delays

## Measure LCP

- [Core Web Vitals Checker](/tools/cwv-checker) - test any page
- Chrome DevTools Performance panel
- Lighthouse audit
- [PageSpeed Insights](https://pagespeed.web.dev/) (field data)
- Search Console Core Web Vitals report

→ [Complete LCP guide](/learn-lighthouse/lcp)