Google PageSpeed Insights vs Semrush
Which one do AI engines recommend, and how do they differ on price, fit and features?
The short answer
Semrush is the stronger AI pick in SEO Tools: it has a visibility score of 64.3 versus 4.9 for Google PageSpeed Insights, and ranks ahead in 60% of the answers that name both.
Choose Google PageSpeed Insights if…
- AI answers describe it more positively (50% vs 49% positive)
- You prefer a larger, established vendor (5,000+ employees)
- Essential for checking Core Web Vitals and performance metrics
- Identifies slow-loading pages, broken links, and mobile-usability issues
Choose Semrush if…
- You want the brand AI engines rank higher (64.3 vs 4.9)
- Widely recommended as a top-tier all-in-one platform for broad suites
- Strong keyword research, competitor analysis, and site auditing
- Strongest overall all-in-one SEO choice for most businesses
AI visibility side by side
Latest weekly run · Nov 2
| Metric | Google PageSpeed Insights | Semrush |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility score | 4.9% | 64.3% |
| Change vs last week | New | New |
| Rank in SEO Tools | #15 | #1 |
| Share of voice | 1.5% | 12.3% |
| Mentions this run | 8 | 63 |
| Positive in AI answers | 50% | 49% |
The stronger value in each row is marked with a ✓.
Visibility score trend
Weekly runs over the last 60 days
Google PageSpeed Insights 0pp · Semrush 0pp over 0 weekly runs.
Engine by engine
Semrush leads on 3 of 3 engines
Head to head in AI answers
5 engine answers name both brands
| Prompt | Engine | Google PageSpeed Insights | Semrush |
|---|---|---|---|
| How do companies improve search rankings without a dedicated tool? | AI Mode | #4 | #2 |
| What should an SEO tool integrate with? | ChatGPT | #3 | #5 |
| What should an SEO tool integrate with? | Perplexity | #5 | #7 |
| Best SEO tool for startups | Perplexity | #8 | #5 |
| Is there a free SEO tool for small teams? | ChatGPT | #7 | #3 |
Features, pricing & fit
| Dimension | Google PageSpeed Insights | Semrush |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | — | Flat tiers |
| Entry price | — | Free; paid from $139 / mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Deployment | Hosted web tool and API run on Google's servers | — |
| Support | — | Help Center and Basic Onboarding, Enterprise SLA and 24/7 support, Dedicated account manager |
| Founded | — | 2008 |
| Headquarters | Mountain View, California (Googleplex, parent Alphabet) | Boston, MA |
| Employees | 5,000+ | 1,001–5,000 |
| Funding | — | IPO |
| Best for | — | Freelancers and small businesses through to agencies and enterprises managing multiple brands, regions and teams. |
Plans side by side
Google PageSpeed Insights
Pricing not available.
Semrush
Pros and cons
Themes from the AI answers that mention each brand
Google PageSpeed Insights
- Essential for checking Core Web Vitals and performance metrics
- Identifies slow-loading pages, broken links, and mobile-usability issues
- Covers technical SEO, speed, mobile, and Core Web Vitals checks
- Recommended in starter SEO tool stacks
- Useful for prioritizing technical SEO issues
Semrush
- Widely recommended as a top-tier all-in-one platform for broad suites
- Strong keyword research, competitor analysis, and site auditing
- Strongest overall all-in-one SEO choice for most businesses
- Good value with discounts on annual billing and free trial
- Useful AI search visibility and rank tracking
- Pricing is high, with enterprise-style suites costing around $100 or more per month
- Less comprehensive than Ahrefs for backlinks in some comparisons
Data collected ·ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode·coverage 100%·next run
Cite as: SlateIndex, “Google PageSpeed Insights vs Semrush”, https://slateindex.ai/compare/google-pagespeed-insights-vs-semrush, data of Nov 2, 2026. Licence: CC BY 4.0.