CoreDash vs PageVitals (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, PageVitals grades higher than CoreDash: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
PageVitals grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
CoreDash
Real-user Core Web Vitals monitoring with element-level attribution
PageVitals
Page speed monitoring with Lighthouse tests, RUM and CrUX data
Which one is for you
Pick CoreDash if
- Fits if you need to know which element or script is causing a poor Core Web Vital
- Works for EU sites that want RUM without cookies or a consent banner
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free plan, as there's only a 14-day trial
- Pricey if you want AI insights, the MCP server or the API, which start at Standard, $31 a month billed yearly
- Tight if you run several sites, as Starter covers 1 and Standard up to 2
- Watch out: extra pageview blocks (about $5 to $25 each) and site slots ($0.50 to $2 each) are monthly add-ons
- Not for you if you want lab tests too, as it measures real visits only
Pick PageVitals if
- Fits if you run a couple of small sites and want lab, RUM and CrUX data on one plan
- Works for agencies tracking Core Web Vitals for several client websites
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free plan, as there's only a 14-day trial and the pricing page says no refunds
- Pricey if you need the API, webhooks, CI/CD or tests behind a login, which start at Growth, $39 a month billed yearly
- Watch out: when the month's tests run out, testing stops until the next cycle, and unused tests don't roll over
- Tight if you test a lot, as 5,000 extra synthetic tests are a $50 a month add-on
How we grade them
| 2.2GPACoreDashFair | 2.4GPAPageVitalsFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CStarter is $16 a month for 75,000 pageviews billed yearly ($20 monthly), just past this category's cheapest quarter, for 1 site and 3 users. AI insights, the MCP server and the API need Standard at $31. | BStarter is $12 a month billed yearly ($15 monthly), inside this category's cheapest quarter. That's 2 websites, 1,000 synthetic tests and 50,000 RUM pageviews a month. The REST API, webhooks and CI/CD need Growth at $39. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan, but a 14-day trial with no card needed. After that, Starter at $16 a month billed yearly is the way in. | CNo free plan, but a 14-day trial with all features and 300 tests, and no card needed. The pricing page says it gives no refunds, so the trial is the only way to try it. |
| Features | CUnsampled RUM on every pageview with waterfalls, element-level attribution, segmentation, alerts, uptime checks and CI/CD budget checks. It does real-user monitoring fully, but that's one part of technical SEO, with no lab tests or crawling on record. | CLighthouse and waterfall tests from 11 regions, RUM through a script, CrUX history with competitor comparison, multi-step tests and budgets with alerts. It covers speed monitoring fully, but that's a smaller job than technical SEO, with no crawling or indexing checks. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. A script goes on your site, through WordPress or by hand, and the attribution views assume you know what LCP, INP and CLS mean. | CNo rating on record. RUM needs a script added through GTM, WordPress, Shopify, Wix or Magento, and the tests, multi-step flows and budgets all have to be set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with WordPress, Slack alerts, and Claude or Cursor through the MCP server from Standard, which also brings the API. | BWeb only, with alerts by email, Slack, Teams or webhook, plus Search Console, GitHub Actions, Zapier, a CLI and a JavaScript SDK. The REST API and CI/CD start at Growth. |
| Best for | finding the element behind a poor Core Web Vital | speed monitoring with lab, RUM and CrUX data |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: CoreDash and PageVitals. How we grade
Price against what you get
CoreDash starts at $16 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. PageVitals starts at $12 a month and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and PageVitals starts $4 a month lower. Of the other technical SEO tools on the chart, 5 score higher than CoreDash for less, and 5 score higher than PageVitals for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- PageVitals also covers reports.
At a glance
| CoreDash | PageVitals | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $16 per month for 75,000 pageviews, billed annually ($20 billed monthly) | $12 per month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial, no card needed | 14-day free trial with all features and 300 tests, no credit card needed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Core/Dash | PageVitals ApS |
| Price read from | coredash.app | pagevitals.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
CoreDash
- There is no free plan; after the 14-day trial the cheapest plan is $16 a month billed annually for 75,000 pageviews and one site.
- AI insights, the MCP server and API access are not on Starter; they start at Standard, $31 a month billed annually.
- Extra pageview blocks (about $5 to $25 each) and site slots ($0.50 to $2 each) are monthly add-ons, priced by tier.
- Agency plans pool pageviews across client sites: Growth is $159 a month billed annually for 25 sites and 3M pageviews.
PageVitals
- There is no free plan, and the pricing page says it gives no refunds; the 14-day trial is offered instead.
- The REST API, webhooks, CI/CD integration and tests behind a login start at Growth, $39 a month billed annually.
- When the monthly test allowance runs out, testing stops until the next billing cycle; unused tests do not roll over.
- Extra tests are add-ons: 5,000 synthetic tests for $50 a month, 100,000 field tests for $10 a month.
Key features
CoreDash
- Real-user Core Web Vitals
- Measures LCP, INP, CLS, TTFB and FCP on every pageview with Google's web-vitals library, unsampled and with no limit on tracked URLs.
- Attribution and waterfalls
- Each slow pageview carries a request waterfall and names the LCP element, the interaction behind a poor INP or the shifting element, plus long animation frame scripts.
- Segmentation
- Filter by device, browser, OS, country, network speed, page group, navigation type and custom labels such as A/B variant or login state.
- Alerts and uptime
- Pulse alerts by email or Slack when a metric slips, and uptime monitoring that reports when a site or checkout stops responding.
- AI insights and MCP server
- From the Standard plan, an MCP server lets Claude, Cursor or another AI agent read your live performance data, alongside built-in AI insights.
- CI/CD checks
- One curl call from a build pipeline flags deploys that miss performance budgets and tracks real-user results per release.
PageVitals
- Scheduled Lighthouse tests
- Synthetic tests on desktop and mobile from 11 regions, with Lighthouse and network waterfall reports. One page tested daily uses about 60 tests a month.
- Real-user monitoring
- A script collects LCP, INP, CLS and TTFB from real visits, filterable by device, location and network. Installs through GTM, WordPress, Shopify, Wix or Magento.
- CrUX reports
- Chrome UX Report data for the whole site and for single pages, with 6 months of weekly history and competitor comparison.
- Multi-step tests
- Scripted tests that follow a user flow across several steps, from 5 on Starter to 100 on Pro.
- Performance budgets and alerts
- Budgets on 25+ lab and field metrics, with defaults based on Google's recommendations, and alerts by email, Slack, Teams or webhook.
- Developer workflow
- A GitHub Action, CLI, JavaScript SDK, REST API and a Zapier connection. The API and CI/CD integration start at the Growth plan.
Plans
CoreDash
Starter$16
per month for 75,000 pageviews, billed annually ($20 billed monthly)
1 site, 3 users, 200 diagnostic reports and 6 months of data. No AI insights, MCP server or API access.
Standard$31
per month for 500,000 pageviews, billed annually ($39 billed monthly)
Up to 2 sites, 10 users, AI insights, the MCP server, standard API access, 5,000 diagnostic reports and 1 year of data.
Studio$71
per month for 1M pageviews, billed annually ($89 billed monthly)
Up to 10 sites sharing the pageviews, unlimited users, 10,000 diagnostic reports, priority support and 3 years of data.
Enterprise$319
per month for 3.5M+ pageviews, billed annually ($399 billed monthly)
Custom sites, unlimited reports, top API quota, SSO, SAML and SCIM, a DPA and SLA, PO billing and 8 years of data. Bought self-serve.
PageVitals
Starter$12
per month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly)
2 websites, 1,000 synthetic tests and 50,000 RUM pageviews a month, 5 multi-step tests and 6 months of data.
Growth$39
per month, billed annually ($49 billed monthly)
Up to 10 websites, 5,000 synthetic tests and 250,000 RUM pageviews, plus the REST API, webhooks, CI/CD and tests behind a login.
Pro$79
per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly)
Up to 25 websites, 10,000 synthetic tests, 2 million RUM pageviews, 24 months of data, priority support and SSO.
Ways to pay less
CoreDash
- Annual discount
About 20% off with annual billing
CoreDash's pricing page says annual billing is about 20% lower: Standard is $31 a month billed annually ($372 a year) against $39 billed monthly.
PageVitals
- Annual discount
About 20% off with annual billing
PageVitals' pricing page shows Starter at $12 a month billed annually against $15 billed monthly, and Pro at $79 against $99.
- Nonprofit
Nonprofit and charity discount
The pricing FAQ says non-profit and charity organizations can get a discount on annual plans by contacting the sales team.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, CoreDash or PageVitals?
As of Oct 23, 2026, PageVitals is cheaper to start with: $12 a month, against $16 a month for CoreDash. CoreDash starts at $16 per month for 75,000 pageviews, billed annually ($20 billed monthly), and PageVitals starts at $12 per month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, CoreDash or PageVitals?
As of Oct 23, 2026, neither CoreDash nor PageVitals has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.