SEO Score API vs Lighthouse
Google's open-source page-quality tool, free forever · Pricing: Free
Lighthouse and SEO Score API both touch SEO, but they are different shapes of product. Lighthouse is a Chrome DevTools + Node CLI + library; SEO Score API is a hosted REST API that returns a scored audit as JSON in seconds. This page is an honest side-by-side — including when you should pick Lighthouse over us. Still shopping around? See our roundup of Lighthouse alternatives organized by use case.
Side-by-side
| Feature | Lighthouse | SEO Score API |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | $0 free, $5+ / mo paid |
| Shape | CLI / DevTools / library | Hosted REST API |
| Setup | Install Node + Chrome | API key in 30 seconds |
| SEO checks | Basic SEO category (~14 checks) | 80+ checks across SEO, perf, a11y, AI |
| AI readability score | No | Yes |
| SXO / AEO / AIO scores | No | Yes (Starter+) |
| Performance audit | Industry standard | Included alongside SEO |
| History / monitoring | Build it yourself (LHCI) | Built-in monitors with alerts |
| Multi-URL batch | Loop yourself | Native batch endpoint |
| Run from any language | Node only (or HTTP wrapper) | Any HTTP client |
When each tool wins
Pick Lighthouse when…
- You audit one page at a time during development inside Chrome DevTools.
- You only care about Performance, Accessibility, Best Practices, SEO, PWA — Lighthouse covers them all.
- You want zero cost and don't mind running it locally or assembling your own pipeline.
Pick SEO Score API when…
- You want a hosted API you can call from anywhere — no Node, no Chrome, no runner setup.
- You want SEO-focused checks beyond Lighthouse's basics: AI readability, SXO/AEO/AIO, GEO signals.
- You audit hundreds of URLs and want a single dashboard, scoreboard, and history without wiring it yourself.
Lighthouse alternatives, by use case
Not sure an audit API is the right swap? Here are the strongest Lighthouse alternatives and Lighthouse competitors, grouped by what you actually need — so you pick on use case, not marketing budget.
If you want Lighthouse but hosted
- PageSpeed Insights. Free Google web tool wrapping Lighthouse + CrUX field data. Has an API. Throttled.
- SEO Score API. Hosted audit API with broader SEO coverage and AI readability scoring. Free tier + paid plans. — learn more
If you want Lighthouse in CI
- Lighthouse CI (LHCI). Free, Google-maintained CI integration. Self-hosted server option.
- SEO Score API GitHub Action. Drop-in step that fails the build if SEO score drops. — learn more
If you want broader SEO depth
- Screaming Frog. $279/yr. Deepest technical SEO crawl available.
- Ahrefs Site Audit. Scheduled crawls bundled in $129+/mo Ahrefs.
Frequently asked
Is SEO Score API better than Lighthouse?
Different scope. Lighthouse is best-in-class for performance and accessibility on a single page during local development. SEO Score API has broader SEO and AI-readiness checks (83 vs ~14), runs as a hosted API from anywhere, and works in CI without runner setup. Many users run both — Lighthouse during dev, SEO Score API in CI and monitoring.
Does SEO Score API include the same Performance audits as Lighthouse?
We include performance checks (response time, HTML size, DOM size, render path) but we don't run a full Lighthouse trace. If you need the full Performance breakdown, run Lighthouse alongside us.
Why pay when Lighthouse is free?
You aren't paying for the audits — you're paying to skip building the rest of the stack: hosted runners, batch processing, history, monitors, alerts, multi-site dashboards, and the scoring layer. The free tier exists if you want to confirm the trade-off before paying.
Can I use SEO Score API and Lighthouse together?
Yes. The most common pattern: Lighthouse via LHCI for performance gates, SEO Score API for SEO + AI readability gates. They cover different surfaces.
Audit your site free — no Lighthouse subscription, no credit card.
Score any URL across 80+ checks in one API call. Free tier, key in seconds.