Have you ever wondered why your WordPress site loads fast for you but feels slow to your visitors? The answer often lies in reliable performance testing. Running a WordPress speed test helps you discover bottlenecks slowing your website down. It’s not only about user experience but also impacts your SEO rankings, conversion rates, and overall online success.
The first step in every website speed optimization should be a series of speed tests, and here’s where 4 best WordPress speed test tools come into play.
But which tool should you trust? Here are the 4 best WordPress speed test tools I, as an expert in the field, have been using for the last 6 years or so, and that every website owner should know about.
To make it more fun and so that you can grasp it more easily, I’ll share our website results and my expert oppinion from these tests.
5 Best WordPress Speed Test Tools:
1. Google PageSpeed Insights (PSI)
Let’s get something straight, I haven’t chosen PSI test on the first spot because it’s the best thing since hot water, on the contrary — I think its the worst of the bunch (if we need to measure only the speed).
But it’s so popular, and does come with its own merits, plus most of my clients look at it as its delivered straight from heaven, that I had to include it.
What I’m trying to say is that these WordPress speed test tools are not set in a particular order.
Google PSI test is one of the most popular WordPress speed test tools available, primarily because it’s straightforward and comes directly from Google itself. PSI evaluates your website’s speed performance and provides clear, actionable insights on how to improve it.
When you run your site through PSI, you get detailed results for both mobile and desktop versions. It categorizes suggestions as opportunities and diagnostics, clearly highlighting factors such as server response time, render-blocking resources, and image optimization. PSI scores websites from 0 to 100, making it easy to measure progress as you optimize.
Additionally, Google uses the same metrics from PSI in its ranking algorithms. Thus, optimizing your WordPress site based on PSI recommendations directly supports better SEO results.
Access PSI here: https://pagespeed.web.dev
This is the mobile PSI test result— meaning that the bandwith is throttled to simulate slow 4G connections. Excellent scores all across the board, someone would like to get everything into green. I’m not to concerned about the FCP and LCP, but I’ll have to keep an eye on it going forward.
Let’s follow it up with the PSI desktop test result by toggling the switch.
On a non-throttled connection, the WPservice,pro scores a perfect score. Yey!
On the Google PSI test you cannot manually select the connection type, or the origin of the visitor. The Google automatically picks up your current location, and sets the continent you are as a testing server origin.
And its missing a waterfall representation of the website URL you are testing.
All of this makes it a bit clunky for a proper speed test.
But, it’s diagnostic section has evolved over time, and it’s pretty decent in pointing your websites current issues, ones you should focus on.
In the end, I’ll mention that PSI test uses the Lighthouse test as it’s foundation.
Lighthouse, another excellent tool developed by Google, is integrated into Google Chrome’s DevTools, making it incredibly accessible for developers and website owners alike, as it’s very similar to PSI test it will not get its spot on the Best WordPress Speed Test Tools article.
2. GTmetrix
GTmetrix is a robust WordPress speed test tool renowned for its user-friendly interface and in-depth reports. It uniquely combines insights from Google’s Lighthouse and Yahoo’s YSlow to present a balanced performance analysis.
GTmetrix evaluates your site performance by providing comprehensive visual breakdowns like waterfall charts, video playback of page loads, and detailed historical performance data. This allows you to track progress over time and measure the effectiveness of your optimizations.
Interestingly, GTmetrix was recently acquired by the same company behind WP Rocket.
And how did we score on it’s tests?
Nice! Green across the board. What about the performance section?
The same. To conclude why did the GTmetrix is worthy of including on the 4 Best WordPress Speed Test Tools?
Unlike the PSI test you can configure the connection type/throttling, and the server location.
Waterfall is nicely represented, and all important data is here.
You can access GTmetrix here: https://gtmetrix.com
3. WebPageTest
WebPageTest remains a highly trusted WordPress speed test tool among developers and performance optimization experts. It is known for its thorough testing and detailed reporting capabilities.
I’m calling it my favorite of the four Best WordPress Speed Test Tools.
What sets WebPageTest apart is its ability to run multiple test scenarios, including different browsers, connection speeds, and geographic locations. Its advanced analysis tools provide detailed breakdowns of each web page element, clearly illustrating load times, content blocking, and resource usage.
WebPageTest also offers the unique feature of scripting custom scenarios, helping developers pinpoint exact performance issues on specific pages or user flows.
One particularly useful feature is its Core Web Vitals monitoring, aligning closely with Google’s ranking criteria, allowing you to optimize precisely what matters most for SEO and user experience.
How did we pass? I’ve enabled the 4G connection type for this test to make it more challenging. Here are the test results represented in a nice UI:
Check out WebPageTest here: https://www.webpagetest.org
4. KeyCDN server performance test
KeyCDN tool is different from the former three tools. It’s a simple tool focused on the web host server speed. What I like to check in it is the time to first byte (TTFB) data. It depicts the speed of your server, your caching, and usage of CDN or lack of it. All important in the speed optimization process.
Our website servers and CDN are in the green on this one.
Feel free to use it here: https://tools.keycdn.com/performance
Out of the competition — Speed Loss Calculator
We have made our own product — speed loss calculator (SLC). SLC uses the google PSI mentioned here, but it also uses an independent research about the website speed and CR. SLC uses complex calculations to cross-reference those two and outputs the potential loss of the website due to it’s speed.
As I’m aware, the SLC is unique on the market today.
Conclusion: Speed Testing is More Than Numbers
Your WordPress website’s speed is more than just a metric—it’s an essential factor influencing visitor satisfaction, conversions, and Google rankings. By leveraging powerful speed testing tools like Google PSI, Lighthouse, GTmetrix, and WebPageTest, you ensure that your site stays optimized, fast, and user-friendly.
Speed testing should be conducted a few times to extract medium results and over multiple testing tools. Hopefully, I explained why these tools have become the 4 best WordPress speed test tools. Will they stay there? It’s up to them.
Ready to test your website? Pick your favorite tool—or better yet, use all four—and start optimizing today!
Feel free to reach out to us if you get stuck or if you’d like a professional to optimize your website speed. WordPress speed optimization service is our forte. Find out why we are top-ranked worldwide for it and why top WordPress plugin companies write about our speed optimization service.
Check out our speed optimization packages, improve your website performance, and join our satisfied clients list.
Disclaimer: This is NOT a paid article — no one paid me for it. However, this article may contain affiliate links that help WPservice.pro, and you may get a discount.
Founder of WPservice.pro
Dalibor is a master of web excellence. With a Bachelor of Science (BS) in civil engineering, Dalibor had an unusual road to end up in IT. Cultivating deep expertise in WordPress website speed optimization, meticulous maintenance, development, and search engine optimization (SEO) while preserving his engineering approach to problem-solving.
Having completed over 90 projects and achieved a top-rated status (on Upwork) in the highly competitive digital niche, Dalibor is a proper authority on enhancing performance and ensuring websites look exceptional and perform flawlessly.
Dalibor is a published writer and an avid learner who continually explores and embraces the latest digital trends. With a commitment to quality and a keen eye for detail, Dalibor is your trusted guide to achieving web success.
