Lighthouse review (2026): is it any good?
Google's open-source audit of page speed, accessibility and SEO
Lighthouse report card
Very good · out of 4.0 · graded Oct 23, 2026
Best for auditing one page's speed, accessibility and SEO
Lighthouse audits a page for performance, accessibility, best practices and SEO and explains how to fix each failed check, free and built into Chrome DevTools. But it audits one page per run, so watching a whole site needs Lighthouse CI or another tool, the command line needs Node 22 and Chrome, and the new Agentic Browsing checks are experimental.
Who Lighthouse is for
- Fits if you're a web developer fixing speed and accessibility problems on a page
- Works for adding automated page audits to continuous integration
Who Lighthouse is not for
- Too light for watching a whole site, as it audits one page per run
- Skip it if you don't want to install Node 22 and Chrome, which the command-line and Node routes need
- Watch out: the Agentic Browsing category is experimental, needs Chrome 150 or later and an origin trial for its WebMCP audits
- Not for you if you planned to use the extension on local sites or pages behind a login, which it can't test
Why Lighthouse gets a 3.2
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- AValue for moneyFree and open source under Apache 2.0, built into Chrome DevTools and also run from the command line, a Node module, a Chrome extension or PageSpeed Insights.
- AFree plan and trialEvery audit category, report format and plugin is free, with no account.
- CFeaturesFour audit categories with a fix for each failed check, pages behind a login, stack packs and plugins, plus an experimental check of readiness for AI agents. The gap the listing shows: one page per run, so regressions across a site need Lighthouse CI or another tool.
- BEase of useNo rating on record. If you have Chrome, it's already in DevTools with nothing to install. The command-line and Node routes need Node 22 or later.
- BPlatforms and integrationsRuns in Chrome DevTools, from the command line, as a Node module for CI, as a Chrome extension and through PageSpeed Insights, with reports shared as GitHub gists.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Google's own pages on 23 October 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
Make Lighthouse? Put this grade on your site
Paste this where you want the badge. It links here and follows the grade if it changes. About badges
<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/lighthouse#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/lighthouse.svg" alt="Lighthouse: 3.2 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Lighthouse stands among technical SEO tools
Lighthouse's GPA of 3.2 is higher than 81 of the 83 other technical SEO tools we grade, and level with 2.
It stands best on free plan and trial (A, above 62 of 83) and worst on features (C, above 10).
Lighthouse has no paid plan.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4, and no tool on the category's chart scores higher without costing more.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 84 technical SEO tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Lighthouse’s own letter is outlined.
- AValue for moneyAbove 54 of 83, level with 29
- AFree plan and trialAbove 62 of 83, level with 21
- CFeaturesAbove 10 of 83, level with 66
- BEase of useAbove 62 of 83, level with 21
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 27 of 83, level with 56
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 73 technical SEO tools. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
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
Keep Lighthouse, or make your own?
Keep it
Lighthouse is free, so making your own would save you nothing.
And it is not the kind of software a weekend replaces. It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 3.2 is higher than 81 of the 83 other technical SEO tools we grade.
What you could not
- Speed tests run from real browsers on a schedule.
- A crawler that checks every page of a site.
What this rests on. Lighthouse’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is Lighthouse?
Lighthouse is an open-source tool from Google's Chrome team that audits a web page and reports on its performance, accessibility, best practices and SEO, with an explanation and fix for every failed check. It runs in the Chrome DevTools panel, from the command line, as a Node module for continuous integration, as a Chrome extension, and behind PageSpeed Insights. An experimental Agentic Browsing category checks how ready a site is for AI agents.
Worth knowing
- The command-line and Node workflows need Google Chrome and Node 22 or later installed.
- Audits one page per run; Lighthouse CI or another tool is needed to watch for regressions across a site.
- The Agentic Browsing category is experimental, needs Chrome 150 or later, and its WebMCP audits need an origin trial.
- The Chrome extension cannot test local sites or pages behind a login; Google recommends DevTools instead.
Key features
- Four audit categories
- Scores performance, accessibility, best practices and SEO, and each failed audit links to a page on why it matters and how to fix it.
- Several ways to run it
- A Lighthouse panel in Chrome DevTools, an npm command-line tool, a Node module for CI systems, a Chrome extension, or PageSpeed Insights with nothing to install.
- Pages behind a login
- Audits any page, public or requiring authentication; the DevTools workflow can also test local sites.
- Agentic Browsing audits
- An experimental category checks llms.txt, WebMCP tool registration and accessibility for agents, shown as a pass ratio rather than a 0 to 100 score.
- Reports and sharing
- Save reports as HTML or JSON, open them in the Lighthouse Viewer, and share them as secret GitHub gists.
- Stack packs and plugins
- Stack packs give advice specific to the CMS or framework a site uses, and plugins let developers add their own audit categories.
Lighthouse pricing
As of Oct 23, 2026, Lighthouse is free to use.
- Starts at
- Free
- Free plan
- Free and open source under the Apache 2.0 license: run it in Chrome DevTools, the command line, a Node script, the Chrome extension or PageSpeed Insights.
- Free trial
- None listed
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Open source | $0 | Every audit category, HTML and JSON reports, the Lighthouse Viewer, stack packs and plugins. |
Read from developer.chrome.com on Oct 23, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Lighthouse before you buy.
Works with
- Chrome DevTools
- PageSpeed Insights
- GitHub Gists
- Lighthouse CI
Lighthouse alternatives
- Lighthouse vs WebPageTest
Free plan · from $180/yr
- Lighthouse vs GTmetrix
Free plan · from $4.99/mo
- Lighthouse vs DebugBear
Free trial · from $99/mo
Common questions
Does Lighthouse have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 23, 2026. Lighthouse is listed for Web.
Does Lighthouse have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 23, 2026. Lighthouse is listed for Web.
Is Lighthouse open source?
Yes. Lighthouse is open source, according to its own site.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 23, 2026.