The 10 Best Website Speed Testing Tools in 2024

Social: Don’t let slow webpages mess with your SEO stats! We’ve made a list of the top 10 free and paid webpage speed testing tools on the market today. Check out these tools and learn how to make your web pages load lightning fast!

Your website’s performance can make or break user experience and impact conversion rates. Slow-loading sites drive users away and hurt SEO rankings, while speedy websites attract more visitors and keep their attention.

Downtime is another major problem website owners have to deal with at some time or another. The costs of downtime can be severe in both money on PPC campaigns, time, resources, and SEO rankings.

One way to counter the effects of slow pages is with a speed testing tool. Website speed testing tools help you measure and improve your site’s performance, giving users a smooth and fast experience.

Let’s explore the benefits of these tools, and get into 10 of the best free and paid options available on the market.

Should you use website speed testing tools?

Absolutely. Website speed testing tools offer a number of advantages, helping you maintain a competitive edge and deliver a better user experience. Here are some reasons why you should use a good tool:

• Improve user experience: Fast-loading websites retain visitors and encourage longer browsing sessions, leading to better conversion rates.
• Improve SEO Rankings: Google considers page speed a ranking factor, so faster websites are more likely to rank higher in search engine results.
• Identify performance bottlenecks: Speed testing tools help you detect and fix issues like slow-loading resources, render-blocking code, and HTTP request overload.
• Monitor website health: Regular speed tests allow you to track performance trends and ensure your website stays in top shape.

Website speed test specifics explained

Website speed tests evaluate various metrics that determine a site’s performance. Here’s an overview of key metrics and how they work:

• Load time: Measures how long it takes for a webpage to fully load. This metric encompasses the time from initiating a request to displaying all content.
• Time to First Byte (TTFB): Indicates the time taken for a server to respond with the first byte of data. A high TTFB suggests server-related issues or network latency.
• First Contentful Paint (FCP): Represents the time when the first visual content appears on a webpage, providing a sense of how quickly a user perceives the page to be loading.
• HTTP requests: Counts the number of requests made by the browser to load resources like images, scripts, and stylesheets. Fewer requests typically lead to faster load times.

The 10 best website speed testing tools

The right speed testing tools can help you measure and optimize your site’s performance to keep users engaged and satisfied.

Let’s explore our top picks for the 10 best website speed testing tools, complete with best features, pricing, pros, and cons.

1. Google Pagespeed Insights [free]

Google Pagespeed Insights is a widely used website speed testing tool created by Google. This tool will give you information about website speed along with easy-to-digest suggestions for improvement.

Best features:

• Measures page speed for both desktop and mobile
• Provides detailed suggestions for improvement
• User-friendly interface with grading from 0 to 100

Pros	Cons
✅ Free and easy to use	❌Lacks advanced features and customization options
✅ Chrome extension	❌No alerting options

2. Pingdom’s Website Speed Testing [trial + paid]

Pingdom Speed Test is a well-known website speed test tool that has been around for ages. It provides a simple interface with performance details to analyze file load times.

Best features:

• Granular reporting with waterfall charts
• Page load snapshots every 500ms
• Other types of monitoring included in packages

Pros	Cons
✅ Easy set up and execution	❌Only works in public domain
✅ Also monitors server response times
✅ Can access other types of monitoring plans

3. GTMetrix [free + paid]

GTMetrix is a popular website speed testing tool that gives detailed recommendations for improving speed, and allows testing from multiple locations. Using Google Lighthouse’s metrics to give the best results, you’ll receive page scores, audits, video and report history, and more.

Best features:

• Global testing locations
• Detailed reporting with waterfall charts
• Testing with multiple connection speeds

Pros	❌Users report initial setup can be confusing
✅ Breakdowns of page compositions	❌Requires premium plans for advanced features
✅ Free basic testing	✅ See page elements that cause slow-downs
✅ See page elements that cause slow downs

4. Site 24×7’s Webpage Analyzer [free]

This big player in the monitoring world has a free website speed testing tool that you can use without creating an account. It’s extremely simple and instantaneous – just enter your website name and get the load time.

Best features:

• Test from chosen locations around the globe
• Premium plan offers advanced features

Pros	Cons
✅ Simple and free	❌Must sign up for more comprehensive monitoring
✅ Global monitoring	❌No reports or recommendations for improvement with free tool

5. Uptime’s PageSpeed Test [free]

Uptime is a website and server monitoring tool that provides multiple features to help track website performance, server health, and page speed. It offers synthetic monitoring along with real user monitoring capabilities on paid plans. Their PageSpeed Test tool is free to use for those who are looking for quick results.

Best features:

• Offers alerting options
• Downloadable PDF reports and waterfall charts and other graphs
• Provides grades in percentages, including Web Core Vitals score

Pros	Cons
❌Fewer testing locations than some competitors with the free option	❌Requires premium plans for advanced features
✅ Comes with suggestions to improve	❌Fewer testing locations than some competitors with free option
✅ Has connection throttling options

6. Sematext Synthetics [trial + paid]

Sematext has a synthetic monitoring package that allows you to track website uptime, performance, and third-party resource monitoring from multiple global locations. You can also get customizable alerts, and it supports various browsers and HTTP checks.

Best features:

• Synthetic monitoring with global locations
• Customizable alerts for monitoring
• Supports various browsers and HTTP checks

Pros	Cons
✅ Detailed reporting with intuitive interfaces	❌Requires premium plans for advanced features
✅ Users report great customer support	❌Some have stated they received delayed reports

7. Yellow Lab Tools [free]

This tool is designed to offer a simple yet informative analysis of your site’s performance. It provides a score and detailed insights into numerous aspects, including page weight, bottlenecks, and server configuration.

Best features:

• Provides a simple speed test with a score
• Test imitating desktops, tablets, and mobile devices
• Identifies server configuration issues

Pros	Cons
✅ Scores in 10 different grading categories	❌Lacks advanced features that paid tools offer
✅Simple interface, instant results	❌No downloadable reports
✅ Provides simple, actionable suggestions	❌No global monitoring

8. Catchpoint’s WebPageTest [free + paid]

WebPageTest is an open-source website performance testing tool that allows you to benchmark your website from multiple locations and devices. You can try out unique testing scenarios, including multiple runs to identify performance inconsistencies.

Best features:

• Can test for site performance, Web Core Vitals, Google Lighthouse, Traceroute, and visual comparisons
• Supports global locations and different devices and browsers
• Unique test structure with multiple runs to detect inconsistencies

Pros	Cons
✅ Free for limited usage	❌Some report slightly delayed results
✅ Real-world metrics and individual runs	❌No alerting options
✅ Page visual loading process

9. Contentsquare’s Speed Analysis [custom pricing]

Part of contentsquare’s Find & Fix offer, this tool uses real-user and synthetic monitoring to test your website’s speed. You can monitor the loading speed of your web pages from different devices and network qualities and see real-time insights on the uptime and performance of web applications.

Best features:

• Shows the impact of poor performance on key metrics
• Timeline and waterfall analysis
• Both real-user and synthetic monitoring

Pros	Cons
✅ Offers detailed performance analysis	❌No free option
✅ Comes with other features for various teams and industries	❌Pricing and tour only available when you provide email and phone number

10. Internet Marketing Ninjas’ Page Speed [free]

Internet Marketing Ninjas’ Page Speed tool, also known as the Page Load Speed Analyzer, is a tool that allows you to analyze the loading speed of your web pages. You can input a URL and start a test to see what slows down your page, including individual elements, and how to make it load faster.

Best features:

• Analyze the speed of a single page or website
• Compare the speed of two different pages
• Detailed report on the elements that are slowing down pages

Pros	Cons
✅ Forever free	❌No global or different device testing
✅ Simple and straightforward with fast results	❌No alerts or downloadable reports

Most common page speed issues & how to fix them

It’s one thing to know that your page is slow, but solving the cause is another issue. Understanding common page speed issues and knowing how to fix them is the only way to truly maintain a fast and efficient website.

Here are some of the most frequent problems and recommended solutions to resolve them.

Slow server response

A slow server response can cause long wait times for users and high Time to First Byte (TTFB), indicating a server-related issue.

• Upgrade hosting: If your server is slow, consider upgrading to a better hosting plan or switching providers.
• Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN): CDNs distribute content across multiple servers, reducing server load and improving response times.
• Optimize server configuration: Adjust your server settings to improve performance and reduce bottlenecks.

Render-blocking code

Render-blocking code, like JavaScript and CSS, can delay page rendering and increase load times.

• Defer JavaScript: Use the defer or async attribute to delay JavaScript execution until after the page has loaded.
• Inline critical CSS: Inline only the critical CSS needed for the above-the-fold content, and load additional stylesheets asynchronously.
• Minimize external resources: Combine and minimize CSS and JavaScript files to reduce HTTP requests and speed up page rendering.

Large file sizes

Large files, such as images, videos, and other media, can cause significant slowdown on your website.

• Compress images: Use image compression tools to reduce file sizes without sacrificing quality.
• Optimize media formats: Choose efficient media formats like WebP for images and MP4 for videos.
• Lazy load content: Implement lazy loading to load content only when needed, which will reduce initial load times.

Excessive HTTP requests

Too many HTTP requests can overwhelm the server and cause long load times.

• Reduce requests: Combine CSS and JavaScript files, and use CSS sprites for images to minimize the number of HTTP requests.
• Use browser caching: Cache static resources to reduce the need for repeated requests.
• Optimize third-party scripts: Limit the use of third-party scripts and load them asynchronously to prevent them from slowing down your site.

Lack of browser caching

If a website doesn’t use browser caching, users have to download all resources each time they visit, slowing down their experience.

• Implement browser caching: Set cache expiration headers to allow browsers to cache static resources.
• Use cache-control headers: Define cache policies to control how long browsers should keep cached resources.

These are some of the most common page speed issues and the corresponding solutions. Addressing these problems can lead to a significant improvement in website performance, user satisfaction, and search engine rankings. If you’re looking for the answers to other questions, or more solutions, have a look at the other pages on our Knowledge Hub.

Conclusion

Are you in need of a new tool to monitor your website? Take control with UptimeRobot’s advanced monitoring solutions.

With our intuitive platform, you can effortlessly track response times through detailed graphs, providing you with immediate insights into your website’s downtime issues

Stay ahead of potential slowdowns with UptimeRobot’s proactive notifications, alerting you the moment your site’s response time lags, ensuring you maintain a perfect user experience and keep your visitors satisfied.

Optimize your online presence and keep your site running smoothly with UptimeRobot, your partner in superior website management.