Lighthouse vs Sitebulb: which should you choose?
Two Technical SEO tools, compared on what can be checked: pricing model, entry price, declared features, and what each one offers that the other does not. The 0 shared capabilities will not decide anything — the differences will.
Lighthouse
Free
PART 1: Lighthouse is an open-source automated tool developed by Google, designed to help web developers and site owners improve the quality of their web pages. It serves a diverse audience, including web developers, SEO professionals, an…
Lighthouse profile
Sitebulb
$13.75/mo
Desktop website crawler with visual, intuitive reporting. Provides actionable insights with priority hints for technical SEO issues.
Sitebulb profileSide by side
| Criterion | Lighthouse | Sitebulb |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Technical SEO | Technical SEO |
| Pricing model | Free | Paid |
| Entry price | Free | $13.75/mo |
| Listed features | 8 | 6 |
| Community rating | — | 4.6 / 5 |
| Official site | search.google.com | sitebulb.com |
What each one adds
Only in Lighthouse
- Automated audits for performance and SEO
- Accessibility checks
- Progressive Web App compliance
- Reports generated in real-time
- Multiple running interfaces (DevTools, CLI, Node)
- Actionable recommendations for improvements
- Integration with CI systems
- Open-source and community-driven
Only in Sitebulb
- Visual Crawl Maps
- Priority Hints
- Internal Link Analysis
- Structured Data
- Core Web Vitals
- JavaScript Crawling
The verdict, as the data has it
- Entry price: both start at a comparable level.
- Breadth: Lighthouse declares the wider scope (8 features).
- Tight budget: Lighthouse offers a free or freemium entry, so it can be tested without commitment.
These criteria can be verified from the vendors' own pages. What no comparison page can verify, and what usually decides, is data quality in your own market: test both on your own keywords and your own domain before signing an annual contract.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Lighthouse and Sitebulb?
Both cover 0 shared capabilities. Lighthouse adds Automated audits for performance and SEO, Accessibility checks, Progressive Web App compliance, while Sitebulb adds Visual Crawl Maps, Priority Hints, Internal Link Analysis. The decision therefore rests on those differences rather than on the shared base.
Which is cheaper, Lighthouse or Sitebulb?
Both advertise comparable entry prices. Compare total cost at an equal number of seats and an equivalent project volume instead, which usually reveals a much bigger gap.
Can you use Lighthouse and Sitebulb together?
Yes, and many teams do when the two cover different jobs. But with 0 overlapping capabilities, paying for both is mostly paying twice for the same data: keep the one your team genuinely opens every week.