var one = 'http://blah' , two = '/asdf/asdf/af' ; function regexTest () { var start = new Date(); var i = 0; while (i<1000000) { if ( !/^http?:/.test(one) ) true if ( !/^http?:/.test(two) ) true i++; } var end = new Date(); console.log('regexTest: '+(end - start)) } function sliceTest () { var start = new Date(); var i = 0; while (i<1000000) { if (one.slice(0, 'http'.length) === 'http') true if (two.slice(0, 'http'.length) === 'http') true i++ } var end = new Date(); console.log('sliceTest: '+(end - start)) } function indexOfTest () { var start = new Date(); var i = 0; while (i<1000000) { if ('http'.indexOf(one) === 0) true if ('http'.indexOf(two) === 0) true i++ } var end = new Date(); console.log('indexOfTest: '+(end - start)) } regexTest(); sliceTest(); indexOfTest();