WebPageTest vs Grafana Faro

WWebPageTest9.0Visit Grafana Faro8.7Visit

Higher score W WebPageTest #3 in Core Web Vitals Monitoring Tools 9.0/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 3 features Visit WebPageTest

vs

Grafana Faro #5 in Core Web Vitals Monitoring Tools 8.7/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 3 features Visit Grafana Faro

• WebPageTest fits best

  Open-source performance engineers and test labs

• Grafana Faro fits best

  Grafana users wanting open RUM observability

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Side by side

Feature	WWebPageTest 9.0/10 Visit ↗	Grafana Faro 8.7/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.0	8.7
Ranking	#3 in Core Web Vitals Monitoring Tools	#5 in Core Web Vitals Monitoring Tools
Best for	Open-source performance engineers and test labs	Grafana users wanting open RUM observability
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free plan + paid
Starting price	Free plan	$19/mo
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted	Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms	Web	Web
Features WebPageTest 0/3 · Grafana Faro 0/3
Real-user monitoring	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Synthetic monitoring	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
CI budget checks	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Alert channels	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Data retention	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Synthetic test locations	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Tests pages across browsers and locations, with page- and request-level metrics Includes Lighthouse runs, scripted tests, and API access Open-source with cloud and self-hosted deployment options	Open-source browser RUM with Web Vitals and frontend performance metrics Correlates sessions, errors, traces, geography, and backend observability Runs in Grafana Cloud or self-hosted deployments with OpenTelemetry-JS
Cons	Does not provide continuous page-speed monitoring Does not include site audits Does not include A/B testing	Focused on browser applications rather than native mobile apps Pro usage above 50k monthly sessions is billed per additional sessions Enterprise deployment and pricing require a custom arrangement
Our verdict	WebPageTest is a website performance testing tool for developers and teams investigating how web pages load. It runs tests with real browsers and locations, then presents performance results for analysis. Its emphasis is on running and… Read the review →	Grafana Faro is an open-source JavaScript web SDK for real user monitoring in browser-based applications. It collects Web Vitals, frontend performance metrics, logs, exceptions, unhandled errors, rejected promises, events, user sessions,… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• WebPageTest — where it wins

  • Tests pages across browsers and locations, with page- and request-level metrics
  • Includes Lighthouse runs, scripted tests, and API access
  • Open-source with cloud and self-hosted deployment options

  Where it doesn't

  • Does not provide continuous page-speed monitoring
  • Does not include site audits
  • Does not include A/B testing

• Grafana Faro — where it wins

  • Open-source browser RUM with Web Vitals and frontend performance metrics
  • Correlates sessions, errors, traces, geography, and backend observability
  • Runs in Grafana Cloud or self-hosted deployments with OpenTelemetry-JS

  Where it doesn't

  • Focused on browser applications rather than native mobile apps
  • Pro usage above 50k monthly sessions is billed per additional sessions
  • Enterprise deployment and pricing require a custom arrangement

• WWebPageTest9.0/10 · Free plan

  A flexible page-testing toolkit, not a continuous Core Web Vitals monitor.

  Visit WebPageTestFull verdict →
• Grafana Faro8.7/10 · Free plan

  Open RUM and Web Vitals monitoring that connects browser telemetry to Grafana observability.

  Visit Grafana FaroFull verdict →