There are many factors to consider when analyzing a web page’s performance. Fortunately, website monitoring tools can measure and analyze aspects like page load distribution, overall speed, user experience and more. We compare the features and capabilities of two website monitoring tools, GTmetrix and PageSpeed Insights, to determine the best solution for your performance monitoring needs.
SEE: Feature comparison: Time tracking software and systems (TechRepublic Premium)
What is GTmetrix?
GTmetrix is a website monitoring solution that lets users track the performance of their websites over time. The software measures websites based on loading speed, blocking time, user experience and other key performance indicators.
What is PageSpeed Insights?
PageSpeed Insights is an online tool that reports on website page performance and can provide users with actionable suggestions on ways to make improvements. In addition, it develops scores for website pages through performance diagnostics.
GTmetrix vs PageSpeed Insights feature comparison
| Scheduled page monitoring | Performance scoring | Performance history | Alerting | SEO insights | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GTmetrix | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| PageSpeed Insights | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Common features of GTmetrix and PageSpeed Insights
Performance scoring
GTmetrix conducts performance scoring based on tracked performance monitoring over time. The GTmetrix report incorporates data and metrics from Lighthouse and generates a GTmetrix Grade for the web page. The GTmetrix Grade is a combination of the web page’s performance speed and performance to reflect the user’s overall webpage experience. The grade score is the weighted average of the performance score and structure score, which are continually being monitored and updated by the system. The performance score is captured by GTmetrix tests and specified analysis options to tell users how their page performs from a user perspective. The structure score measures factors like page speed and latency for performance optimization. The performance report page also provides performance milestones like cumulative layout shift, largest contentful paint and more.
SEE: Windows, Linux, and Mac commands everyone needs to know (free PDF) (TechRepublic)
PageSpeed Insights scores users’ web pages based on their real-world performance. Its reporting metrics include first contentful paint and DOMContentLoaded. Each metric’s median value is analyzed in comparison to all the pages monitored by the Chrome User Experience Report to determine whether it is considered fast, slow or average. The optimization score is provided by PageSpeed Insights when analyzing a single page to evaluate its performance. It then evaluates the page for two potential areas of improvement, time to above-the-fold load and time to full page load. Finally, the score is categorized as Good, Medium or Low, based on the page’s score out of 100.
Performance history
The GTmetrix solution provides automatic web page monitoring as scheduled by the user. Users can keep track of their performance over time by visualizing their historical data with interactive graphs. Users can then configure the graph visualization based on date ranges to find specific performance data throughout their monitored history. The platform enables users to access their history graphs through their history tabs. The graphs will provide information about when the performance data was collected and other relevant options for viewing and comparing the data.
PageSpeed Insights works differently than GTmetrix to conduct historical reports. While GTmetrix provides history based on scheduled monitoring, PageSpeed Insights reports on the URL’s past performance. Its field data is a historical report about the particular URL’s performance, representing anonymized performance data from users in the real world on various network conditions and devices. This data is based on a simulated load of the page. Of course, you could track your PageSpeed Insights over time by running manual checks or connecting the program with a third-party tool to enable scheduled automatic page monitoring.
Alerting
The GTmetrix provides scheduled monitoring and alerts users when their page is underperforming. By monitoring the pages based on a continuous schedule, users can get alerts about various conditions by configuring their alerting options. For example, alerts of poor performance can be based on Page Timings, Total Page size, Web Vitals, and other factors. Users may also combine their video-recorded page loads with monitored alerts to save a video of the page load that triggered the alert for further analysis.
PageSpeed Insights will analyze users’ web page data and alert them of performance scores and issues. For example, if your website achieves low server response times, it will notify users that they have passed their audits. The system will also alert users if there is an issue that needs resolving and can provide suggestions on improvement methods. Of course, these alerts are only provided once the system runs a manually prompted report on web pages performance. Unfortunately, PageSpeed does not monitor automatically and, therefore, does not provide automated alerts for underperforming web pages. However, integrations with third-party solutions can make this feature possible.
How to choose between GTmetrix and PageSpeed Insights
GTmetrix and PageSpeed Insights bring their own valuable sets of features and capabilities to the table for website monitoring and analysis. So, which product is the ideal website monitoring tool for your business?
To determine the best option for your needs, you should consider the different aspects between the two solutions and what users they would best service. For example, GTmetrix may be a better option for companies and organizations with rapidly updating web pages or serve a rapidly changing market. This is because users can perform automated, scheduled monitoring, enabling them to gain updates on their webpage performance. However, the PageSpeed Insights tool may be better for users new to website performance monitoring and who want to take advantage of the solution’s online accessibility and simplified optimization suggestions.