PageSpeed Insights vs WebPageTest (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 24, 2026, we pick PageSpeed Insights: it is third in our ranking of technical SEO tools, and it grades higher too, 3.2 against 2.6.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
PageSpeed Insights grades higher on value for money, the free plan and platforms. They get the same grade on features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
PageSpeed Insights
Free Google speed test with real-user Core Web Vitals and Lighthouse
WebPageTest
Page speed tests from real browsers in locations around the world
Which one is for you
Pick PageSpeed Insights if
- Fits if you want one page's Core Web Vitals the way Google measures them
- Works for developers adding speed checks to scripts through a free API
Look elsewhere if
- Too light for watching a whole site, as it tests one URL per run with no monitoring
- Skip it if your page has little traffic, since real-user data only shows for pages with enough Chrome visits
- Watch out: lab tests run from a Google data center in North America, Europe or Asia, and scores vary from run to run
- Tight if you keep reports, as a shared link holds its snapshot for only 30 days
- Not for you if you planned to get real-user data from its API, which Google plans to drop in favour of the CrUX API
Pick WebPageTest if
- Fits if you need to see how a page loads in a given browser from a given city
- Works for checking a fix's effect side by side before you change the site, on Pro
Look elsewhere if
- Watch out: every page load counts as a run, so 5 runs with repeat views use 10 of your 150
- Tight if you stay on Starter, with 3 runs per test and no scheduled tests, alerts, API or Experiments
- Not for you if you want to try Pro first, as there's no free trial
- Too light for bigger teams, as a Pro account holds up to 5 members
How we grade them
| 3.2GPAPageSpeed InsightsVery good | 2.6GPAWebPageTestGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree, from Google, with real-user data, Lighthouse tests on mobile and desktop, shareable reports and an API. Nothing to buy. | BPro is $180 a year for 1,000 test runs a month, $15 a month, inside this category's cheaper quarter, and it holds up to 5 users. Monthly billing is $18.75; 5,000 runs are $840 a year. |
| Free plan and trial | AOpen to anyone in a browser with no account, and the API works with or without a free key. | BThe free Starter plan gives 150 test runs a month, 30 locations, Lighthouse, filmstrip, video, Opportunities, 3-step scripts and 60 days of history. Enough for one person testing now and then, though repeat views double the count. |
| Features | CReal-user LCP, INP, CLS and FCP from CrUX, a Core Web Vitals pass or fail, and Lighthouse scores with audits and suggested fixes. The gaps it lists: one URL per run, no monitoring or history past a 30-day link, and no field data for pages with too few visits. | CReal-browser tests over connections from 3G to fiber, Lighthouse, filmstrips and Opportunities, with scheduled tests, alerts, Smartboards and Experiments on Pro. It does lab speed testing fully, but that's a smaller job, with no real user data on record. |
| Ease of use | BNo rating on record, and nothing to set up: type a URL and the report appears. Making sense of the audits takes some knowledge of how pages load. | BNo rating on record. A test is a page address, a location and a browser, with nothing to install or connect first. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with a free v5 API that returns Lighthouse results as JSON. It draws on Lighthouse and the Chrome UX Report. | CWeb only, with no integrations on record; the API comes only with Pro. No desktop or phone app. |
| Best for | checking one page's speed the way Google does | real-browser page speed tests worldwide |
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: PageSpeed Insights and WebPageTest. How we grade
Price against what you get
PageSpeed Insights has no paid plan and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. WebPageTest starts at $15 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.3.
PageSpeed Insights scores higher and starts $15 a month lower. Of the other technical SEO tools on the chart, none scores higher than PageSpeed Insights for less, and 5 score higher than WebPageTest 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
- WebPageTest also covers dashboards.
At a glance
| PageSpeed Insights | WebPageTest | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $180 per year for 1,000 test runs a month ($18.75 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Open to anyone in a browser with no account: enter a URL for field data and a Lighthouse report. The API works with or without a free API key. | Starter plan: 150 test runs a month (up to 3 per test), 30 test locations, Lighthouse, filmstrip and video, Opportunities, 3-step scripts and 60 days of history. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | LogicMonitor | |
| Price read from | pagespeed.web.dev | logicmonitor.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
PageSpeed Insights
- Tests one URL per run, and a shared report link keeps its snapshot for only 30 days.
- Real-user data appears only for public pages with enough Chrome visits; otherwise only the lab test is shown.
- Lab tests run from a Google data center in North America, Europe or Asia, and scores vary from run to run.
- Google plans to drop real-user data from the API and points developers to the CrUX API instead.
WebPageTest
- Every page load counts as a test run: 5 runs with first and repeat views use 10 of the monthly allowance.
- Starter allows 150 runs a month and 3 runs per test; scheduled tests, alerts, the API and Experiments need Pro.
- There is no free trial of Pro, and a Pro account holds up to 5 team members.
- The webpagetest.org site answered with a bot check; prices were read on LogicMonitor's WebPageTest pricing page.
Key features
PageSpeed Insights
- Real-user data from CrUX
- Shows the 75th percentile of LCP, INP, CLS and FCP, plus TTFB, from real Chrome users over the past 28 days, with the share of good, middling and poor visits.
- Core Web Vitals assessment
- A pass or fail on LCP, INP and CLS for the page, falling back to the whole origin when the page alone has too little data.
- Lighthouse lab test
- Runs Lighthouse 13 on a simulated mid-range phone and on a desktop, scoring performance, accessibility, best practices and SEO from 0 to 100.
- Audits and suggestions
- Each category lists audits that explain what slows the page down or breaks best practice, and what to change.
- Shareable reports
- A link to a report keeps a snapshot of the results for up to 30 days.
- PageSpeed Insights API
- The v5 API returns Lighthouse results as JSON; an API key is recommended for frequent automated tests.
WebPageTest
- Real-browser tests
- Test in Chrome (stable, beta and canary), Firefox (stable, beta and ESR), Edge and Brave, on desktop or mobile, over connection speeds from 3G to fiber.
- Global test locations
- Starter runs tests from 30 locations across six continents; Pro adds more, including many more US cities.
- Lighthouse, filmstrip and video
- Each test can include a Lighthouse run, a filmstrip and a video of the page loading, on every plan.
- Opportunities
- Recommendations grouped under quickness, usability and resilience, with tips on what to fix. Available to all users.
- Experiments
- Pro runs a proposed optimization side by side with a control test in a sandbox, so its effect shows without changing the site's code.
- Scheduled tests and alerts
- Pro schedules tests, sends custom alerts, builds Smartboards dashboards and keeps 13 months of history, with API, private and bulk testing.
Plans
PageSpeed Insights
Free$0
Real-user Core Web Vitals, Lighthouse lab tests on mobile and desktop, shareable reports and the API.
WebPageTest
Starter$0
150 test runs a month, up to 3 runs per test, 30 locations, Lighthouse, Opportunities and 60 days of test history.
Pro 1,000 runs$180
per year for 1,000 test runs a month ($18.75 billed monthly)
Scheduled tests, alerts, Smartboards, API access, Experiments, private and bulk tests, more locations, 13 months of history and up to 5 users.
Pro 5,000 runs$840
per year for 5,000 test runs a month ($87.50 billed monthly)
The same Pro features with a larger monthly allowance of test runs.
Pro 10,000 runs$1,620
per year for 10,000 test runs a month ($168.75 billed monthly)
The same Pro features with 10,000 test runs a month.
Pro 20,000 runs$3,000
per year for 20,000 test runs a month ($312.50 billed monthly)
The largest listed Pro allowance, with 20,000 test runs a month.
Ways to pay less
PageSpeed Insights
No public discounts listed.
WebPageTest
- Annual discount
Save 20% with annual billing
Pro with 1,000 runs a month is $180 a year billed annually, against $18.75 a month billed monthly; the pricing page lists a 20% saving.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, PageSpeed Insights or WebPageTest?
As of Oct 23, 2026, PageSpeed Insights is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $15 a month when paid by the year for WebPageTest. PageSpeed Insights is free, and WebPageTest starts at $180 per year for 1,000 test runs a month ($18.75 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, PageSpeed Insights or WebPageTest?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both PageSpeed Insights and WebPageTest have a free plan.
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.