← SEO Score API

SEO Score API vs PageSpeed Insights

Google's free hosted Lighthouse with real-user (CrUX) field data · Pricing: Free

PageSpeed Insights and SEO Score API both touch SEO, but they are different shapes of product. PageSpeed Insights is a Web tool + REST API (free, throttled); SEO Score API is a hosted REST API that returns a scored audit as JSON in about two seconds. This page is an honest side-by-side — including when you should pick PageSpeed Insights over us.

Side-by-side

FeaturePageSpeed InsightsSEO Score API
PricingFree$0 free, $5+ / mo
FocusPerformance + Web VitalsSEO + AI readability + performance
Real-user (CrUX) dataYesNo
AI readability scoreNoYes
SXO / AEO / AIO scoresNoYes (Starter+)
API quotas25k/day shared, ~400/100s keyPer-plan, dedicated
Per-key authOptionalRequired (X-API-Key)
OutputJSON (Lighthouse + CrUX)Compact scored JSON with priorities
CI/CD examplesBuild your ownOfficial GitHub Action
Schema / structured-data checksLimitedDetailed

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 at higher volume than PSI's free quota allows (25k requests/day shared globally).
  • You want a single API for SEO + AI readability + SXO/AEO/AIO scoring, not just Web Vitals.

Frequently asked

Does SEO Score API replace PageSpeed Insights?

Only partly. We include performance signals but not the full Lighthouse trace and not CrUX field data. For Core Web Vitals from Google, 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. At higher volume you hit quotas (25k/day shared globally, ~400 requests per 100s per key) and 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?

We surface page response time, HTML size, DOM size, and render-path basics, but not full Web Vitals. If Web Vitals is your priority, run PSI alongside us.

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.

Run an audit in your terminal in 30 seconds.

Get a Free API Key