Best free tools to test your website speed
PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix, WebPageTest, Pingdom, Lighthouse and Teste de Performance compared: strengths, free tiers and which to pick.
Key takeaways
- Almost every tool runs the same Google engine (Lighthouse) under the hood; what changes is what each one shows, explains and tracks.
- For real-visitor data, use PageSpeed Insights; for deep investigation, WebPageTest; for plain-language explanations and ongoing tracking, Teste de Performance.
- Always compare in the same tool and on the same device: numbers from different tools do not match.
In this guide
Type "website speed test" into Google and ten tools show up, each giving the same site a different score. Which one is right? In reality, they all measure similar things in different ways, and each is good for a particular situation.
In this comparison, we show what each tool does well, where it falls short and who it is for. Yes, one of them is ours, and we will be honest about where the others are better.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Free | Mobile | Ongoing tracking |
|---|---|---|---|
| PageSpeed Insights | Yes | Yes | No |
| Lighthouse (Chrome) | Yes | Yes | No |
| GTmetrix | With limits | Paid plans | Paid plans |
| WebPageTest | With sign-up | Yes | Paid version |
| Pingdom (speed test) | Yes | No | Paid, separate product |
| Teste de Performance | Yes | Yes | Paid plans |
"Ongoing tracking" means automatic tests at regular intervals, with history and alerts when something gets worse.
PageSpeed Insights
Google's official tool. You paste a URL and get two things: real-visitor data from the last 28 days (when the site has enough traffic) and a lab test with the 0 to 100 score.
- Best at: showing the numbers Google actually uses to evaluate your site (field Core Web Vitals).
- Falls short: explanations are technical, it keeps no history and it does not alert you when something changes. The score varies between tests, which confuses many people.
- Who it is for: everyone, as a reference. We explain how to read the report in PageSpeed Insights: how to read the report.
Lighthouse (inside Chrome)
The engine behind PageSpeed Insights, available right in your browser: right-click, choose Inspect and open the Lighthouse tab.
- Best at: testing pages that are not public yet (in development or behind a login) and checking accessibility and best practices.
- Falls short: results depend on your computer, your connection and your installed extensions. Use a private window.
- Who it is for: whoever builds or maintains the site.
GTmetrix
One of the best-known tools, with a detailed report and its own score (GTmetrix Grade) based on Lighthouse.
- Best at: the loading "waterfall" (showing file by file what slows the page down), the loading video and the choice of test locations.
- Falls short: more locations, mobile testing, monitoring and long history are on paid plans, starting at US$4.99 per month billed annually.
- Who it is for: anyone who wants a detailed technical report.
WebPageTest
A favorite among many specialists, now maintained by Catchpoint. It lets you test with different browsers, connections and locations, and repeat the test several times.
- Best at: depth. It shows frame by frame how the page appears, compares versions and genuinely simulates slow connections.
- Falls short: it can be intimidating for non-technical users. Some analyses and heavy use require the paid Pro version.
- Who it is for: developers and specialists who need to find the exact cause of a problem.
Pingdom Website Speed Test
Quick and simple: it shows a score, page size, number of requests and the file waterfall.
- Best at: a quick view of page weight and which files take longest.
- Falls short: it only tests as a desktop on a fast server connection (so the site looks faster than it is) and uses older metrics, without Core Web Vitals. Pingdom's monitoring is a separate, paid product.
- Who it is for: a quick check, not a basis for decisions.
Teste de Performance
Our tool. It uses Google's measurement engine and presents the results in plain language, explaining what each number means and what to do.
- Best at:
- explanations for non-technical people, with prioritized tips;
- three analyses in one report: speed, technical SEO and AI visibility (whether ChatGPT, Gemini and others can read your site);
- mobile and desktop testing with no sign-up;
- with an account, history and automatic monitoring of your pages, with email alerts if the site goes down or gets worse, on plans built to fit.
- Falls short: it does not replace WebPageTest for deep technical investigation, and it does not show real-visitor field data like PageSpeed Insights.
- Who it is for: site owners, marketers and agencies who want to understand results, prioritize fixes and track progress without needing a developer for every test.
Why every tool gives a different score
It is normal, and it does not mean any of them is wrong. The differences come from:
- Simulated device: a mid-range phone or a powerful desktop.
- Connection: a simulated slow mobile network or a server's fast connection.
- Test location: a server near or far from where the site is hosted.
- Timing: the site's server may be more or less busy.
- Metrics and weights: some use the Lighthouse score; others use their own criteria.
The golden rule: pick one tool and one device (preferably mobile) and always compare with them. What matters is the trend over time, not the number from a single test.
Which one to choose
- "I just want to know if my site is OK." Teste de Performance or PageSpeed Insights.
- "I want to know what Google sees from my real visitors." PageSpeed Insights or the Core Web Vitals report in Search Console.
- "My developer needs to find the cause of a problem." WebPageTest and Lighthouse.
- "I want to track my site and get alerted when something gets worse." A tool with monitoring, such as Teste de Performance or GTmetrix's paid plans.
- "I want to understand the results without jargon and know where to start." Teste de Performance.
In practice, many people combine two: one for day-to-day tracking and PageSpeed Insights as Google's official reference.