Surmado Scan Essential vs Pro: What’s the Difference?

Quick answer: Scan Essential ($25) tests up to 30 pages with 150+ automated checks (Technical SEO, Core Web Vitals, accessibility, security). Scan Pro ($50) tests up to 100 pages with the same checks plus content gap analysis and competitor benchmarking. Choose based on site size: under 30 pages = Essential, over 30 pages or need competitive analysis = Pro.

Reading time: 8 minutes

What you’ll learn:

• Same 150+ checks across both tiers with identical quality: Technical SEO (40+ checks: robots.txt, noindex tags, sitemap errors, duplicate titles, broken links, schema markup), Core Web Vitals (LCP under 2.5s, CLS under 0.1, INP under 200ms), Accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA: alt text, color contrast, keyboard navigation), Security (HTTPS, SSL, headers, vulnerabilities), Mobile Optimization (viewport, touch targets, responsive design), tested across 9 browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari iOS/macOS, Edge, Chrome Android, Brave, Instagram/Facebook in-app)
• Coverage and depth differences determining tier: Essential tests 30 pages with 3-click crawl ($25, 12-15 page PDF, 15-20 min delivery, site-level recommendations only); Pro tests 100 pages with 5-click crawl ($50, 18-25 page PDF, 25-30 min delivery, page-level recommendations showing exactly where issues are)
• Pro-exclusive features with concrete value: content gap analysis (AI-powered competitive research identifies missing topics: “Competitor A has 8 posts on smart thermostats, you have 0”), competitor benchmarking (compare your 68/100 score vs 3 competitors: A 82/100, B 71/100, C 58/100 with specific metric breakdowns), page-level recommendations (not just “890 images missing alt text” but “Homepage: 12 missing, Product page 1: 8 missing, Blog post: 5 missing” for prioritization)
• Pricing decision scenarios based on site characteristics: Essential for sites under 30 pages ($25 one-time: local HVAC 16 pages, consultant portfolio 8 pages, restaurant 6 pages), pre-launch staging audits, first-time baseline technical health score; Pro for 30-100+ pages ($50: e-commerce 150+ pages test top 100, SaaS 76 pages, multi-location 40+ pages), need competitive analysis to see where ahead/behind, content strategy requiring topic gap identification, developer teams wanting Technical report style with code examples
• Hybrid quarterly approach for cost optimization: Pro once ($50) for audit covering performance, accessibility, SEO, security, and mobile + content gaps + competitive benchmarking + page-level detail, then Essential quarterly ($25 × 3) for tracking score improvements (42/100 → 58/100 → 68/100) = $150/year vs $200/year all-Pro

Same technical rigor, different coverage and depth.

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What’s Identical in Both Tiers

Same 150+ Automated Checks

Both Essential and Pro run identical checks:

Technical SEO (40+ checks):

• Robots.txt configuration
• Noindex tags on important pages
• Sitemap errors
• Missing or duplicate title tags
• Missing or duplicate meta descriptions
• H1 tag issues
• Broken heading hierarchy
• Broken links (404 errors)
• Redirect chains
• Orphaned pages
• Schema markup (missing or invalid)

Core Web Vitals:

• LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) - Target: under 2.5s
• CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) - Target: under 0.1
• INP (Interaction to Next Paint) - Target: under 200ms

Accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA):

• Alt text missing on images
• Color contrast failures
• Keyboard navigation issues
• Form labels missing
• Screen reader compatibility
• ARIA attributes incorrect

Security:

• HTTPS configuration
• SSL certificate validity
• Mixed content warnings
• Security headers (Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, etc.)
• Known JavaScript library vulnerabilities
• Exposed admin paths

Mobile Optimization:

• Viewport meta tag
• Touch target sizing
• Responsive design
• Mobile Core Web Vitals

No difference in check quality. Essential and Pro both run same 150+ checks with same rigor.

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Same Browsers Tested

Both tiers test across 9 browsers:

1. Chrome (desktop)
2. Firefox (desktop)
3. Safari (macOS)
4. Safari (iOS)
5. Edge
6. Chrome (Android)
7. Brave
8. Instagram in-app browser
9. Facebook in-app browser

No difference in browser coverage. Essential and Pro both test all 9 browsers.

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Same Intelligence Token Included

Both tiers include Intelligence Token for JSON export:

• Format: SCAN-2025-11-XXXXX
• Access structured data programmatically
• All metrics, issues, recommendations
• Never expires

No difference in Intelligence Token features.

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What’s Different: Coverage and Depth

Scan Essential ($25)

Pages tested: Up to 30 pages

• Auto-selected by crawl (highest traffic, most linked)
• Or manually specify up to 30 pages
• 3-click crawl depth

Report includes:

• Overall score (0-100)
• Category scores (Technical SEO, Performance, Accessibility, Security)
• Top 10 critical issues
• Quick wins (high-impact, low-effort fixes)
• Effort estimates (hours to fix)
• Intelligence Token

Report style: Executive (business-focused, educational)

PDF pages: 12-15 pages

Delivery time: 15-20 minutes

What’s NOT included:

• Content gap analysis
• Competitor benchmarking
• Page-level recommendations (only site-level)
• Technical report style option
• Crawl depth beyond 3 clicks
• Testing beyond 30 pages

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Scan Pro ($50)

Pages tested: Up to 100 pages

• Full site crawl (5-click depth)
• Or manually select 100 specific pages
• Deep crawl finds orphaned pages

Everything in Essential, plus:

Content gap analysis:

• AI-powered competitive research
• Identifies missing content vs competitors
• Topic gaps in your blog/resources
• FAQ opportunities

Competitor benchmarking:

• Compare against up to 3 competitors
• See their scores (Technical SEO, Performance, Accessibility)
• Identify where you’re ahead or behind
• Competitive advantage opportunities

Page-level recommendations:

• Not just “890 images missing alt text”
• But: “Homepage: 12 images missing, Product page 1: 8 missing, Blog post: 5 missing”
• Prioritize fixes by page importance

Report style choice:

• Executive (business-focused) OR
• Technical (developer-focused with code examples)

PDF pages: 18-25 pages

Delivery time: 25-30 minutes

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Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	Essential ($25)	Pro ($50)
Pages tested	Up to 30	Up to 100
Checks included	150+	150+ (same)
Technical SEO
Core Web Vitals
Accessibility (WCAG)
Security checks
Mobile optimization
Browsers tested	9	9
Content gap analysis
Competitor benchmarking		(up to 3)
Page-level recommendations
Report style options	Executive only	Executive or Technical
Crawl depth	3 clicks	5 clicks
Intelligence Token
PDF report pages	12-15	18-25
Delivery time	15-20 min	25-30 min

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Pricing Decision Guide

Choose Scan Essential ($25) if:

Small site: Under 30 pages total

Limited budget: Want technical audit at lowest cost

Pre-launch: Testing staging site before production deploy

First-time user: Get baseline technical health score

Simple sites: Landing pages, portfolios, local business sites

Example sites that fit Essential:

• Local HVAC site (homepage + 10 service pages + 5 blog posts = 16 pages)
• Consultant portfolio (homepage + about + services + 5 case studies = 8 pages)
• Restaurant site (homepage + menu + contact + 3 locations = 6 pages)

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Choose Scan Pro ($50) if:

Larger site: 30-100+ pages

E-commerce: Product pages, category pages, checkout flow (need page-level detail)

SaaS: Feature pages, integrations, blog (complex navigation)

Competitive analysis: Want to benchmark against 3 competitors

Content strategy: Need content gap analysis to identify missing topics

Developer team: Want Technical report style with code examples

Example sites that need Pro:

• E-commerce site (100+ products + collections + blog = 150+ pages, test top 100)
• SaaS site (homepage + 15 feature pages + 20 integrations + 40 blog posts = 76 pages)
• Multi-location business (3 locations × 10 pages each + shared pages = 40+ pages)

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Example: Page-Level Recommendations (Pro Only)

Scan Essential shows (site-level):

• “890 images missing alt text across site”
• “Fix priority: HIGH”
• “Estimated effort: 12 hours”

Scan Pro shows (page-level):

• “Homepage (/): 12 images missing alt text”
• “Product page (/products/ac-repair): 8 images missing”
• “Blog post (/blog/hvac-tips): 5 images missing”
• “Low-priority archive pages: 865 images missing”
• Recommendation: “Fix homepage first (12 images, 30 min), then product pages (8 images each, 20 min each). Skip archive pages (low traffic).”

Value: Pro helps prioritize fixes by page importance (not just total count).

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Example: Content Gap Analysis (Pro Only)

Scan Pro identifies missing content vs competitors:

Your content:

• 15 blog posts (HVAC maintenance, AC repair, energy savings)

Competitor A content:

• 40 blog posts (HVAC + smart thermostats + air quality + financing)

Content gaps identified by Pro:

• No content on “smart thermostats” (competitor has 8 posts, ranks well)
• No content on “indoor air quality” (competitor has 6 posts)
• No financing FAQ page (competitor has dedicated page)

Recommendations:

• Create 3-5 blog posts on smart thermostats (high search volume, low competition)
• Add air quality service page + 2-3 blog posts
• Create financing FAQ page (common buyer question)

Value: Pro shows exactly what content to create to compete effectively.

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Example: Competitor Benchmarking (Pro Only)

Scan Pro compares you vs 3 competitors:

Metric	Your Site	Competitor A	Competitor B	Competitor C
Overall Score	68/100	82/100	71/100	58/100
Technical SEO	72/100	88/100	75/100	62/100
Performance (LCP)	3.2s	2.1s (faster)	2.8s	4.1s (slower)
Accessibility	64/100	78/100	68/100	52/100
Schema Markup	Missing LocalBusiness	Complete	Partial	Missing

Insights from Pro:

• Competitor A leads on Technical SEO (88 vs your 72) - investigate their schema markup
• Your LCP (3.2s) slower than A and B - prioritize performance optimization
• You’re ahead of Competitor C on all metrics (competitive advantage)

Recommendations:

• Add LocalBusiness schema (match Competitor A)
• Optimize LCP to under 2.5s (beat Competitor B)
• Maintain accessibility lead over Competitor C

Value: Pro shows where you’re winning and losing vs real competitors (not just absolute scores).

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Pricing Scenarios

Single Site

Small site (under 30 pages):

• Scan Essential: $25 (one-time)

Medium site (30-100 pages):

• Scan Pro: $50 (one-time)

Large site (200+ pages):

• Scan Pro (top 100 pages): $50
• OR Scan Pro 2x (pages 1-100, then 101-200): $100

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Quarterly Re-Testing

Scan Essential quarterly:

• Q1: $25
• Q2: $25
• Q3: $25
• Q4: $25
• Annual cost: $100

Scan Pro quarterly:

• Q1: $50
• Q2: $50
• Q3: $50
• Q4: $50
• Annual cost: $200

Hybrid (Pro once, then Essential for tracking):

• Month 0: Scan Pro ($50) - Full audit + content gaps + competitive analysis
• Month 3: Scan Essential ($25) - Track score improvements
• Month 6: Scan Essential ($25) - Continue tracking
• Month 9: Scan Pro ($50) - Deep dive after implementing fixes
• Annual cost: $150

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Agency Pricing

Testing multiple client sites:

Pay-as-you-go:

• Client A (15 pages): Scan Essential $25
• Client B (60 pages): Scan Pro $50
• Client C (22 pages): Scan Essential $25
• Total: $100/month (3 clients)

$1,000/month unlimited:

• Run unlimited Scans (Essential or Pro, your choice per site)
• Breakeven: 40 Essential/month or 20 Pro/month
• Month-to-month, no credit tracking

Best for agencies: If running 20+ Scans/month, $1k unlimited saves significantly.

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Can I Upgrade from Essential to Pro?

Yes, but requires new scan.

Process:

1. Run Scan Essential ($25), see 30 pages tested
2. Report shows “80 more pages found but not tested”
3. Run Scan Pro ($50) to test all 110 pages (top 100)

No discount for upgrading (each scan is separate).

Better: If site has 30+ pages, start with Scan Pro ($50) for audit covering performance, accessibility, SEO, security, and mobile.

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Complete Visibility Suite Pricing

Bundle includes Scan Pro (not Essential):

• Signal Pro: $50 (2 credits)
• Scan Pro: $50 (2 credits)
• Solutions: $50 (2 credits)
• Bundle price: $100 (6 credits, 33% savings vs $150 separate)

Why Pro in bundle: Complete Visibility Suite is premium offering. If you want Scan Essential, buy separately ($25).

Flexibility: On app.surmado.com, bundle is 6 credits you can use however you want.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if I need Essential or Pro?

Count your pages:

• Visit yoursite.com/sitemap.xml, count URLs
• Under 30 pages: Scan Essential ($25)
• 30-100 pages: Scan Pro ($50)
• Over 100 pages: Scan Pro tests top 100 (you choose which)

If unsure: Start with Scan Essential ($25). If report shows “30 pages tested but 80 more found”, you’ll know you need Pro next time.

What if my site has 200+ pages?

Options:

Option A: Scan Pro ($50) for top 100 most important pages (skip low-priority archive pages)

Option B: Run Scan Pro 2x

• Scan 1: Pages 1-100 ($50)
• Scan 2: Pages 101-200 ($50)
• Total: $100

Most businesses choose Option A (top 100 pages sufficient, archive pages less critical).

Is content gap analysis worth $25 more?

Yes, if you’re creating content:

• Identifies exactly what topics to write about
• Shows competitor content you’re missing
• Prioritizes FAQ opportunities

Not worth $25 if:

• You’re not planning content creation
• Site is static (no blog, no resources section)
• Just need technical fixes

Other Pro benefits (page-level recommendations, competitor benchmarking, 100 pages vs 30) often justify $25 even without content gap analysis.

Can I test a competitor’s site?

Yes. Same pricing ($25 Essential or $50 Pro).

Use case:

• Run Scan Pro on your site ($50)
• Run Scan Essential on 3 competitors ($25 each = $75)
• Total: $125 for comprehensive competitive technical analysis

Legal: Uses publicly available data (standard competitive intelligence).

Does Essential skip any checks?

No. Essential runs all 150+ checks (same as Pro).

Only differences:

• Pages tested (30 vs 100)
• Content gap analysis (Pro only)
• Competitor benchmarking (Pro only)
• Page-level recommendations (Pro only)

Check quality is identical between tiers.

Can I test a staging site before launch?

Yes, if staging URL is publicly accessible.

Requirements:

• Staging URL reachable (not password-protected, unless you share credentials)
• Not blocked by robots.txt
• Functional (not half-built)

Use case: Pre-launch audit catches issues before production deploy (fix before go-live vs fix after launch).

Do I need to re-scan after fixing issues?

Recommended, but not required.

Re-scan workflow:

1. Month 0: Scan finds 45 issues, score 42/100
2. Month 1-3: Fix top 15 issues (high-priority)
3. Month 3: Re-scan ($25 or $50)
4. Result: Score improved to 68/100, 12 issues remaining

Re-scanning validates fixes worked and measures improvement.

Can I choose which 30 pages Essential tests?

Yes and no:

• Essential: Auto-crawl only (top 30 by importance)
• Pro: Auto-crawl OR manually select 100 specific pages

If you need to choose specific pages: Use Scan Pro ($50), manually select up to 100 pages.

Is Scan Essential enough for e-commerce?

Depends on product count:

Small e-commerce (under 30 products): Scan Essential ($25) sufficient

Medium e-commerce (30-100 products): Scan Pro ($50) recommended (page-level recommendations help prioritize which product pages to fix first)

Large e-commerce (100+ products): Scan Pro ($50), test top 100 pages (homepage + top sellers + category pages + checkout)

Pro advantage for e-commerce: Page-level detail shows which product pages have issues (not just site-wide totals).

What if I only care about Core Web Vitals?

Scan includes all checks (package deal, no opt-out).

Why: Technical issues are interconnected. Accessibility problems often cause performance issues (heavy images missing alt text = SEO + accessibility + performance problem).

If you only want Core Web Vitals: Use free Google PageSpeed Insights.

Scan value: audit covering performance, accessibility, SEO, security, and mobile (performance + accessibility + SEO + security + mobile for $25 or $50).

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Ready to run Scan? Scan Essential ($25) for sites under 30 pages. Scan Pro ($50) for 30-100 pages with content analysis and competitor benchmarking. Delivered in 15-30 minutes.