PageSpeed Insights Alternatives for Developers
Google's free hosted Lighthouse with real-user (CrUX) field data · Pricing: Free
Short answer: keep PageSpeed Insights for a deep performance trace of one page. If you need SEO checks too, or results your code can act on across many URLs, an audit API is the better fit. SEO Score API returns a 0-100 score, pass/fail checks and ranked fixes as JSON. Add cwv=true and the same response includes the Core Web Vitals PageSpeed Insights measures (LCP, INP, CLS, FCP and TTFB), with real-user data where Google has it.
This page is an honest side-by-side — including when you should pick PageSpeed Insights over us. Still shopping around? See our roundup of PageSpeed Insights alternatives organized by use case.
Side-by-side
| Feature | PageSpeed Insights | SEO Score API |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | $0 free, $5+ / mo |
| Focus | Performance + Web Vitals | SEO + AI readability + performance |
| Real-user (CrUX) data | Yes | On request (cwv=true) |
| AI readability score | No | Yes |
| SXO / AEO / AIO scores | No | Yes (Starter+) |
| API quotas | Rate-limited per project | Per-plan, dedicated |
| Per-key auth | Optional | Required (X-API-Key) |
| Output | JSON (Lighthouse + CrUX) | Compact scored JSON with priorities |
| CI/CD examples | Build your own | Official GitHub Action |
| Schema / structured-data checks | Limited | Detailed |
When each tool wins
Pick PageSpeed Insights when…
- You want Google's own opinion of a page's Core Web Vitals — including real-user data from CrUX.
- You only need a quick check on a few URLs occasionally.
- You're optimizing for Google's specific page-experience signals.
Pick SEO Score API when…
- You want broader SEO and AI-readiness checks beyond performance.
- You audit many URLs on a schedule and want per-plan allowances on your own key.
- You want a single API for SEO + AI readability + SXO/AEO/AIO scoring, not just Web Vitals.
Core Web Vitals in the same call
Audits don't wait on PageSpeed Insights by default, so they stay fast. When you want measured Core Web Vitals, add cwv=true:
curl -s "https://seoscoreapi.com/audit?url=https://example.com&cwv=true" -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_KEY"- Each metric is graded against Google's thresholds.
- The response marks whether the data is
field(Chrome UX Report) orlab. - The first measurement of a URL adds about 10 seconds. Results are cached for 24 hours, so repeat calls are instant.
- It works on every plan, costs nothing extra and never changes the SEO score.
PageSpeed Insights alternatives, by use case
Not sure an audit API is the right swap? Here are the strongest PageSpeed Insights alternatives and PageSpeed Insights competitors, grouped by what you actually need — so you pick on use case, not marketing budget.
If you want broader SEO checks (not just performance)
- SEO Score API. 80+ checks: SEO + perf + a11y + AI readability + SXO/AEO/AIO. Hosted API. — learn more
- Ahrefs Site Audit. Scheduled crawls inside the $129+/mo Ahrefs plan.
If you want raw Lighthouse without PSI's quota
- Lighthouse CLI. Run it yourself, no quota — but you supply the runner.
- Lighthouse CI. Self-hosted, free, designed for build pipelines.
If you want real-user monitoring
- Chrome UX Report (CrUX) BigQuery. Free, raw RUM data straight from Google.
- SpeedCurve / Calibre. Paid synthetic + real-user monitoring suites.
Frequently asked
What is the best PageSpeed Insights API alternative?
It depends on what you need back. For a full Lighthouse performance trace, run Lighthouse yourself (CLI or Lighthouse CI). For SEO, accessibility and AI-readability checks with Core Web Vitals in one JSON response, use an audit API like SEO Score API: a free tier of 20 audits a month, paid plans from $5/mo.
Does SEO Score API replace PageSpeed Insights?
Only partly. We include performance signals and, on request (cwv=true), the Core Web Vitals PSI measures, but not the full Lighthouse trace. For a full performance breakdown, keep using PSI. For broader SEO + AI readiness checks across many URLs, use us.
Why use a paid tool when PSI is free?
PSI is free and excellent for spot checks. Its API is rate-limited per project, and at volume you'd build the rest of the stack yourself: batch, history, alerts, scoring layer, broader SEO depth. SEO Score API covers that out of the box.
Can I get Core Web Vitals from SEO Score API?
Yes, on request. Add cwv=true to an audit and the response includes LCP, INP, CLS, FCP and TTFB as measured by PageSpeed Insights, with real-user data where Google has it. It is off by default because it takes about 10 seconds longer. Every audit also reports response time, HTML size, DOM size and render-path basics.
Does SEO Score API check schema and structured data?
Yes — every audit checks JSON-LD presence, validates types, and reports gaps. PSI's structured-data coverage is comparatively shallow.
Audit your site free — no PageSpeed Insights subscription, no credit card.
Score any URL across 80+ checks in one API call. Free tier, key in seconds.