Item: GTmetrix
Rating: 10
Author: Jeff Smith

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use GTmetrix for two main tasks. It is one of our investigative tools when beginning an SEO audit (or deciding if we even want to take on the client). GTmetrix allows you to quickly get a pretty comprehensive look at the technical health of a website. In just a few minutes you can get a good look to see the data size of a page, get an idea of load time. You can also see if the site is using caching, scaled images, if scripts are minified and/or in-line and the list goes on to address about 25 different parameters.

The other area that we use GTmetrix for is speed optimization. Not only can you see the items mentioned above but you also can look at the Waterfall so you can see the order that assets are loading on the page but also how long each takes. This lets you identify areas that can be improved and find where the biggest improvements can be made with the least effort or cost.

Speaking of cost, all of the above can be accomplished with the free version of GTmetrix.

Pros and Cons

Quickly assess the general technical health of a page or site.
Quickly Identify areas that can be improved.

I have been using GTmetrix for several years. I have the free account and I honestly cannot think of one thing that I could suggest improvements for. I am not afraid to critique when due. However, in this instance there really is nothing that I can say that I dislike or would like to see different. The interface is easy to understand and use. The information that is produced from scanning a URL is well organized and well presented.

Return on Investment

A great free tool that is does what it is meant to do very well.
Due to its simplicity and speed it is highly efficient.

Alternatives Considered

SEMRush, SEO PowerSuite, Ahrefs Site Explorer and Google PageSpeed Insights

Compared to the products I have listed PageSpeed Insights is probably the closest to what GTMetrix does and many times those 2 tabs are open side by side. SEMRush is a full SEO platform and though it can do much of what GTmetrix does it is also quite expensive and does a lot beyond GTmetrix. SEO PowerSuite's Website Auditor and Ahrefs Site Explorer are similar, but again they look at everything when they scan a site.

If the technical health of a site is what you really want to look at then GTmetrix is the best choice here. And in my opinion, Google PageSpeed Insights would be the next best. Pagespeed does not give you as much information as GTmetrix but it is pretty close.

Support Rating

I have never had the need to use GTmetrix support. Therefore, there is really no way for me to give a grade here. However, if you are on a paid plan my guess and it is a guess, is that their support is as good as the tool is. There are a lot more features in the paid plans, reporting. monitoring etc. I could see where support could come into play as these features are added to the account.

Key Insights

Do you think GTmetrix delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with GTmetrix's feature set?

Yes

Did GTmetrix live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of GTmetrix go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy GTmetrix again?

Yes

Other Software Used

SEMRush, SEO PowerSuite, Yoast Wordpress SEO Plugins

Likelihood to Recommend

I am not at all averse to the larger SEO platforms like SEMRush or Ahrefs they are great tools and can do virtually do everything GTmetrix can. However, I tend to like tools that are really good at one thing if I am looking to do a specific task.

GTmetrix is superb at what it does. Of all the Website audit tools available GTmetrix is the best at looking at the technical issues a site or page may have. It is built to do this one function and it does it great. Especially considering you can do all this with a free account. If you are looking for Metas description, H tags or other on-site data, this is not the tool. However, if you want to see all your render-blocking Java Scripts if compression is being used or scaled images are correctly sized, this is the tool.

A typical scenario we find ourselves in during speed optimization is to have a tab with GTmetrix open as well as being in the backend of whatever website we are working on. As we make changes to the site we can immediately check using GTmetrix to see how the improvements are helping. This process takes place in real-time and is quite efficient. I can do the same with other tools but they tend to look at other areas of the site at the same time and that makes the process slower.

GTmetrix give you the technical data you need to stay up to speed

Overall Satisfaction with GTmetrix