GTmetrix vs Sitechecker in 2026: Page speed specialist vs an agency crawl-and-rank command center
GTmetrix stays free for basic page speed testing. Sitechecker starts at $89 a month for crawling, rank tracking, white-label reports, and an AI Visibility Tracker that GTmetrix has no equivalent for.
Sitechecker includes an AI Visibility Tracker from its Standard tier, monitoring how a site is referenced in ChatGPT and Perplexity responses. GTmetrix has no AI search tracking of any kind.
GTmetrix has a genuinely usable free tier. Sitechecker has no free tier at all; the entry plan starts at $89 a month.
GTmetrix offers API access from its $18/month Starter plan. Sitechecker restricts API access to its Enterprise tier only.
Sitechecker includes white-label client reports from its Standard tier at $219/month. GTmetrix has no white-label option at any price.
GTmetrix measures Core Web Vitals and page speed directly. Sitechecker's own feature list does not include page speed testing or Core Web Vitals scoring.
GTmetrix and Sitechecker sit at very different points on the price and scope spectrum. GTmetrix is a free-to-start page speed tool: run a test, get a waterfall chart and Core Web Vitals score back, pay $5.50 a month if you want scheduled monitoring. Sitechecker is a $89-a-month agency dashboard that bundles a site crawler, rank tracker, white-label reporting, and SEO alerts, and adds an AI Visibility Tracker that monitors how a site shows up in ChatGPT and Perplexity responses, a category GTmetrix does not touch at all. If the job is fixing page speed, GTmetrix does it for less. If the job is running client SEO programs that increasingly include AI search reporting, Sitechecker covers more ground in one subscription.
The tools at a glance
GTmetrix
Page speed analysis with Lighthouse, Web Vitals, waterfall charts, and performance monitoring.
GTmetrix tests a single page through a real Chromium browser and returns a waterfall chart, Core Web Vitals scores, and a Lighthouse-based grade. The free tier requires no credit card and is a complete product on its own for occasional checks; paid plans starting at $5.50 a month add scheduled monitoring, more test locations, mobile emulation, and API access from the $18 Starter tier.
GTmetrix does not crawl a site, does not track keyword rankings, and has no AI search visibility component, it is scoped entirely to how fast a page loads and why. That focus is what keeps the price low and the free tier genuinely useful, but it also means GTmetrix cannot replace a broader agency dashboard like Sitechecker on its own.
For a shop that already has a crawler and rank tracker and just needs reliable, affordable page speed monitoring, GTmetrix remains hard to beat, particularly with a free tier that many paid competitors do not match.
| Feature | Free Free | Solo $5.50/mo | Starter $18/mo | Growth $40/mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| On-demand tests | Limited | 50/mo | 200/mo | Unlimited |
| Monitored pages | 0 | 1 | 5 | 20 |
| Test locations | 1 | 7 | 14 | 22+ |
| Mobile testing | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| API access | No | No | Yes | Yes |
Sitechecker
SEO command center for agencies managing multiple client sites, with crawling, rank tracking, technical issue detection, and AI visibility tracking from a unified dashboard.
Sitechecker bundles a website crawler, keyword rank tracker, Google Search Console dashboard, and SEO alerts into one subscription starting at $89 a month, with white-label reports available from the $219 Standard tier up. For agencies that need to hand clients a branded deliverable without piecing together exports from four tools, that packaging carries real weight.
The feature that sets Sitechecker apart in this specific comparison is its AI Visibility Tracker, which monitors how a website is referenced in responses from ChatGPT and Perplexity. GTmetrix has nothing comparable, and Sitechecker is one of relatively few tools at this price point to include AI search reporting alongside traditional crawling and rank tracking rather than treating it as a separate product.
The trade-offs are cost and access. There is no free tier, so evaluating Sitechecker means committing to at least the $89 Basic plan, and API access is reserved for Enterprise customers only, which shuts out teams on lower tiers who want to pull data into their own systems. Sitechecker also does not test page speed or report Core Web Vitals, so it is not a substitute for GTmetrix on that front.
| Feature | Basic $89/month | Standard $219/month | Premium $379/month | Enterprise Contact for pricing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Website Crawler | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Rank Tracker | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AI Visibility Tracker | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| White Label Reports | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SEO Alerts | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| GSC Dashboard | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| API access | No | No | No | Yes |
Head-to-head feature comparison
| Feature | ||
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Starting paid price | $5.50/mo | $89/mo |
| Page speed / Core Web Vitals testing | Yes | No |
| Site crawler & technical audit | No | Yes |
| Keyword rank tracking | No | Yes |
| AI Visibility Tracker (ChatGPT / Perplexity mentions) | No | Yes (Standard+) |
| White-label reporting | No | Yes (Standard+) |
| Automated alerts | Yes (paid plans) | Yes |
| Google Search Console integration | No | Yes |
| API access | Yes (Starter+) | Enterprise only |
| Multi-location speed testing | Yes (paid plans) | No |
Need AI visibility tracking without the enterprise API gate?

Sitechecker's AI Visibility Tracker only appears from the $219/month Standard tier, and API access to that data is reserved for Enterprise customers, so teams on lower tiers cannot pull the numbers into their own reporting. GTmetrix has no AI visibility tracking at all. AI Peekaboo tracks brand mentions across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and Google AI Mode, with a read and write API included on every plan from $50 a month and white-label delivery built in. For agencies that want dedicated AI search reporting with API access from day one instead of at the top of a pricing ladder, it is the more direct fit.
Read the AI Peekaboo review →Which should you choose?
The two tools barely overlap in what they measure. GTmetrix has no answer for keyword rankings, crawl errors, or AI search citations, and Sitechecker has no answer for Core Web Vitals or waterfall-level performance diagnostics. The AI Visibility Tracker is the one feature that genuinely differentiates Sitechecker from most tools in this price range, but it only unlocks at the $219 Standard tier, and API access to any of Sitechecker's data is Enterprise-only, which limits how far you can automate around it.
Bottom line
Choose GTmetrix if page speed is the specific problem and you want a free or low-cost tool with API access to plug into your own workflow. Choose Sitechecker if you are running an agency SEO program that needs crawling, rank tracking, white-label reports, and a first pass at AI search visibility in one $89-plus subscription. Neither tool is a complete answer for AI visibility on its own: Sitechecker's tracker is bundled and gated behind higher tiers with no API access below Enterprise, so agencies that need dedicated, programmatic AI visibility monitoring will still want a specialist tool alongside either of these.
Frequently asked questions
Does GTmetrix track AI search visibility the way Sitechecker does?
No. GTmetrix has no AI search visibility tracking of any kind, it measures page speed, Core Web Vitals, and waterfall-level performance data only. Sitechecker's AI Visibility Tracker, available from its $219/month Standard tier, monitors how a site is referenced in ChatGPT and Perplexity responses, which is a feature category GTmetrix does not compete in at all.
Is Sitechecker worth $89 a month if I only need page speed testing?
No, if page speed testing alone is the goal, GTmetrix is the better and far cheaper option since it has a usable free tier and paid plans starting at $5.50 a month. Sitechecker does not test page speed or report Core Web Vitals at all, so paying $89 a month for it to solve a performance problem would be paying for the wrong tool.
Can I get API access to Sitechecker's AI Visibility Tracker data?
Only on the Enterprise tier. Sitechecker restricts API access to Enterprise customers across its entire platform, including the AI Visibility Tracker, so Basic, Standard, and Premium subscribers cannot pull that data into a custom dashboard or reporting pipeline without upgrading or negotiating an enterprise contract.
Which tool is cheaper for a freelancer just starting out, GTmetrix or Sitechecker?
GTmetrix is significantly cheaper to start with, offering a free tier with no credit card required and paid plans from $5.50 a month. Sitechecker has no free tier at all, with its entry Basic plan starting at $89 a month, which is a meaningful commitment for a freelancer who has not yet confirmed the tool fits their workflow.
Does Sitechecker replace the need for a dedicated AI visibility tool like AI Peekaboo?
Not fully. Sitechecker's AI Visibility Tracker covers ChatGPT and Perplexity mentions as one feature inside a broader crawling and rank tracking dashboard, but it is gated behind the $219 Standard tier and its data is not accessible via API below Enterprise. A dedicated tool built around AI visibility, with API access included at a lower entry price, will generally offer more depth and more flexibility for teams that treat AI search reporting as a core deliverable rather than an add-on.

