Scan vs Lighthouse: Detailed Comparison

Surmado Scan vs Lighthouse: Detailed Comparison

Quick answer: Scan and Lighthouse both test website performance, accessibility, and SEO, but serve different audiences. Scan tests 9 browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari iOS/macOS, Edge, Brave, Instagram/Facebook in-app), $25 or $50, includes schema markup validation, WCAG compliance, content gap analysis (Pro), Intelligence Token API. Lighthouse tests Chrome only, free, developer CLI tool, performance-focused. Choose Scan for: cross-browser testing, non-technical teams, schema/WCAG depth. Choose Lighthouse for: dev workflows, Chrome-only focus, budget constraints.

Reading time: 12 minutes

In this guide:

Scan tests 9 browsers (Chrome/Firefox/Safari/Edge/Brave/iOS/Android/Instagram/Facebook in-app) vs Lighthouse’s 1 (Chrome only) where Scan catches Safari-specific CSS bugs, Instagram in-app browser restrictions, and cross-browser performance variance that Lighthouse misses, critical for e-commerce sites losing 10-20% of conversions to browser-specific issues
Scan includes built-in schema markup validation, Lighthouse has none where Scan validates LocalBusiness/Service/Review schema completeness across all pages automatically while Lighthouse requires separate Google Rich Results Test runs manually, with schema improving AI Presence Rate by 15-30% making validation essential for AI visibility
Scan provides 150+ WCAG accessibility checks vs Lighthouse’s about 50 using pa11y engine for comprehensive WCAG 2.1 AA compliance needed for ADA lawsuit risk mitigation (average settlement $10K-20K), while both catch basic issues like missing alt text and color contrast
Scan Pro adds content gap analysis and competitor benchmarking ($50) by comparing your site to 3 competitors to identify missing service pages (“Emergency AC Repair” page gap), thin content (< 300 words), and competitive ranking (#2 out of 4 for Overall Score), features Lighthouse completely lacks
Use both tools together strategically with Lighthouse for daily development (free, instant, Chrome-focused CI/CD), Scan Essential ($25) for pre-launch cross-browser verification, and Scan Pro ($50) quarterly for audit covering performance, accessibility, SEO, security, and mobiles with competitive analysis, saving 95% vs manual testing (12-18 hours → 45 minutes)

Bottom line: Lighthouse is excellent free developer tool. Scan is comprehensive paid service for cross-browser testing and business-focused insights.

Feature Comparison Table

Feature	Scan Essential	Scan Pro	Lighthouse (Free)
Price	$25	$50	Free
Pages Tested	Up to 30	Up to 100	1 page per run
Browsers Tested	9	9	1 (Chrome)
Mobile Testing	Yes (iOS, Android)	Yes	Yes (Chrome Android emulation)
Desktop Testing	Yes (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Brave)	Yes	Yes (Chrome desktop)
In-App Browser Testing	Yes (Instagram, Facebook)	Yes	No
Performance Testing	Yes	Yes	Yes
Accessibility (WCAG)	Yes (150+ checks)	Yes	Yes (about 50 checks)
SEO Testing	Yes	Yes	Yes
Security Testing	Yes	Yes	No (separate tools)
Schema Markup Validation	Yes	Yes	No
Content Gap Analysis	No	Yes	No
Competitor Benchmarking	No	Yes (3 competitors)	No
Core Web Vitals	Yes (LCP, CLS, INP)	Yes	Yes (LCP, CLS, INP)
Intelligence Token API	Yes	Yes	No (JSON export only)
Report Format	PDF + JSON (API)	PDF + JSON	HTML + JSON
Delivery	about 15-30 minutes	about 15-30 minutes	Instant (local)
CI/CD Integration	Via API	Via API	Yes (CLI)
Bulk Testing	Yes (30-100 pages)	Yes	No (script required)

Browser Coverage

Scan (9 Browsers)

Desktop browsers:

Chrome (desktop)
Firefox (desktop)
Safari (macOS)
Edge (desktop)
Brave (desktop)

Mobile browsers: 6. Safari (iOS) 7. Chrome (Android)

In-app browsers: 8. Instagram in-app browser 9. Facebook in-app browser

Why 9 browsers: Cross-browser compatibility testing (users access websites from diverse browsers, not just Chrome)

Instagram/Facebook in-app: 3B+ combined users, unique rendering engines, often break layouts that work in standard browsers

Lighthouse (1 Browser)

Chrome only: Desktop and mobile (emulated)

Mobile testing: Chrome DevTools device emulation (not real iOS Safari)

Missing:

Firefox (Gecko engine)
Safari (WebKit engine)
In-app browsers (Instagram, Facebook)
Brave (privacy-focused modifications)

Why Chrome-only: Lighthouse is Google tool, designed for Chrome DevTools integration

Browser Coverage Winner: Scan (9 vs 1)

Scan advantage: Real cross-browser testing

Example: CSS Grid layout works in Chrome (Lighthouse passes), breaks in Safari iOS (Scan catches)

Lighthouse advantage: Chrome is 65% global market share (good representative sample)

Choose Scan if: Users access your site from diverse browsers (e-commerce, public-facing sites)

Choose Lighthouse if: Users primarily use Chrome (internal tools, developer-focused products)

Accessibility Testing Depth

Scan: 150+ WCAG 2.1 AA Checks

Testing tool: pa11y (industry-standard accessibility engine)

Checks include:

Missing alt text on images
Form labels missing
Color contrast ratios (4.5:1 for text, 3:1 for large text)
Heading hierarchy (H1 → H2 → H3, no skipping)
ARIA attributes validity
Keyboard navigation
Focus indicators
Semantic HTML

Standard: WCAG 2.1 Level AA (legal standard for ADA compliance)

Coverage: about 70% of WCAG issues (automated testing limit)

Learn more: What is WCAG Compliance

Lighthouse: about 50 Accessibility Checks

Testing tool: axe-core (also industry-standard)

Checks include:

Alt text
Form labels
Color contrast
ARIA attributes
Heading hierarchy

Standard: WCAG 2.1 Level AA (same as Scan)

Coverage: about 50-60% of WCAG issues

Accessibility Winner: Scan (150+ vs about 50 checks)

Scan advantage: more thorough with 150+ checks (150+ checks vs about 50)

Example: Scan catches missing lang attribute on <html> tag, Lighthouse may miss it

Both require manual review: Automated testing catches 50-70% of WCAG issues. Manual testing needed for remaining 30-50% (alt text quality, logical tab order, content clarity)

For ADA compliance: Use Scan (more thorough), then manual review for full WCAG 2.1 AA compliance

Schema Markup Validation

Scan: Built-In Schema Testing

Validates:

LocalBusiness schema (presence, completeness)
Service schema (if applicable)
Review/AggregateRating schema
Organization schema
JSON-LD syntax errors

Checks:

Schema present on homepage?
Required fields included (name, address for LocalBusiness)?
Valid JSON syntax?
Correct @type for business (e.g., HVACBusiness vs generic LocalBusiness)?

Output: Page-by-page schema status (missing, invalid, incomplete, valid)

Learn more: What is Schema Markup

Lighthouse: No Schema Testing

Not included: Lighthouse doesn’t validate schema markup

Alternative: Use Google Rich Results Test separately (manual, one page at a time)

Workaround: Run Lighthouse + Rich Results Test + Scan (use all three)

Schema Winner: Scan (Lighthouse has no schema testing)

Scan advantage: Integrated schema validation across all tested pages

Why it matters: Schema markup critical for AI visibility (Signal Presence Rate correlates with schema completeness). Businesses without schema have 15-30% lower Presence Rate.

Lighthouse gap: Must use separate tools for schema (Google Rich Results Test, Schema.org Validator)

Content Gap Analysis (Scan Pro Only)

Scan Pro: Content Gap Detection

What it finds:

Missing service pages (competitors have “Emergency AC Repair” page, you don’t)
Missing location pages (competitors target “Phoenix AC Repair”, you have no Phoenix-specific page)
Missing FAQ sections (competitors answer common questions, you don’t)
Thin content (pages with < 300 words)

How it works:

Scan analyzes your site structure
Compares to competitor sites (up to 3 competitors)
Identifies gaps (pages/topics competitors have, you don’t)

Output: Prioritized list of content to create (highest impact first)

Example:

Gap: “AC financing options” (3/3 competitors have dedicated page, you mention financing in passing)
Impact: High (buyer intent keyword, low competition)
Recommendation: Create dedicated “AC Financing Options Phoenix” page

Included in: Scan Pro only ($50)

Learn more: Scan Essential vs Pro

Lighthouse: No Content Gap Analysis

Not included: Lighthouse is technical testing tool (performance, accessibility, SEO basics)

Alternative: Manual competitor analysis or separate SEO tools (Ahrefs, SEMrush)

Content Gap Winner: Scan Pro (Lighthouse has no content analysis)

Scan Pro advantage: Integrated competitive content analysis

Use case: You run Scan, discover technical issues AND missing content opportunities in one report (vs running Lighthouse + separate SEO tool)

Competitor Benchmarking

Scan Pro: Head-to-Head Comparison

Compare your site to 3 competitors:

Overall scores (your 68 vs Competitor A 72 vs Competitor B 61)
Category scores (Performance, Accessibility, Security, Technical SEO)
Content gaps (what they have that you don’t)
Schema markup completeness (who has better LocalBusiness schema)

Output: Competitive ranking (you rank #2 out of 4 for Overall Score)

Use case: Identify if competitors have technical advantage (better performance, more complete schema) or content advantage (more thorough with 150+ checks service pages)

Included in: Scan Pro only ($50)

Lighthouse: No Competitor Testing

Manual workaround: Run Lighthouse on competitor sites separately, compare scores manually

Time: 15-30 minutes per competitor (run Lighthouse, export JSON, compile spreadsheet)

Scan Pro: Automated (competitors analyzed in same report)

Competitor Benchmarking Winner: Scan Pro (Lighthouse requires manual work)

Scan Pro advantage: Automated competitive analysis

Lighthouse alternative: Free but manual (run Lighthouse on each competitor URL, compare results yourself)

CI/CD Integration

Scan: Intelligence Token API

Workflow:

Run Scan (via API call or manual)
Receive Intelligence Token (format: SCAN-YYYY-MM-XXXXX)
Fetch JSON via API: https://api.surmado.com/intelligence/{TOKEN}
Parse overall_score, category_scores, issues
Fail build if overall_score < 70 (or custom threshold)

Example (GitHub Actions):

- name: Run Scan and Check Score
  run: |
    TOKEN=$(curl -X POST https://api.surmado.com/scan \
      -d "url=https://staging.mysite.com" | jq -r '.token')
    SCORE=$(curl https://api.surmado.com/intelligence/$TOKEN | jq '.overall_score')
    if [ $SCORE -lt 70 ]; then
      echo "Scan score $SCORE below threshold 70"
      exit 1
    fi

Learn more: API Integration Overview

Lighthouse: Native CI/CD Support

Lighthouse CI (official tool):

npm install -g @lhci/cli
lhci autorun --collect.url=https://staging.mysite.com

GitHub Actions (example):

- name: Run Lighthouse CI
  run: |
    npm install -g @lhci/cli
    lhci autorun

Fail thresholds:

{
  "ci": {
    "assert": {
      "assertions": {
        "categories:performance": ["error", {"minScore": 0.9}],
        "categories:accessibility": ["error", {"minScore": 0.9}]
      }
    }
  }
}

CI/CD Winner: Tie (Both Support CI/CD)

Lighthouse advantage: Native CI/CD tool (Lighthouse CI), widely adopted in dev workflows

Scan advantage: Intelligence Token API enables custom integrations (Zapier, Make, n8n for non-devs)

Choose Lighthouse if: Dev team already uses Lighthouse CI in pipeline

Choose Scan if: Non-technical team needs automated testing (via Zapier) or cross-browser CI/CD (Lighthouse CI tests Chrome only)

Pricing and ROI

Scan Pricing

Essential ($25):

30 pages tested
9 browsers
Performance, Accessibility, Security, SEO
Schema markup validation
Intelligence Token API
PDF report

Pro ($50):

100 pages tested
Everything in Essential
Content gap analysis
Competitor benchmarking (3 competitors)

When to use:

Essential: Small sites (< 30 pages), basic technical testing
Pro: Large sites (30-100 pages), competitive analysis needed

Lighthouse: Free

Cost: $0

Runs: Unlimited (local CLI, no API limits)

When to use: Frequent testing (every commit), developer-focused, Chrome-only acceptable

ROI Comparison

Scenario 1: Developer testing staging site before launch

Lighthouse: Free, instant, Chrome-only
Scan: $25, 15-30 min, 9 browsers
Winner: Lighthouse (free, instant for dev workflow)

Scenario 2: Agency testing 20 client sites monthly

Lighthouse: Free, but manual for each site (20 × 15 min = 5 hours/month)
Scan: $500-1,000/month, automated via API (1 hour setup, then automatic)
Winner: Scan (ROI positive if your time worth > $100/hour)

Scenario 3: E-commerce site losing conversions on Safari iOS

Lighthouse: Tests Chrome only (can’t detect Safari-specific issues)
Scan: Tests Safari iOS (finds layout breaking on iPhone)
Winner: Scan (catches browser-specific bugs Lighthouse misses)

Scenario 4: Small business checking site health quarterly

Lighthouse: Free, manual quarterly test (30 min)
Scan: $25 quarterly ($100/year)
Winner: Lighthouse (free sufficient for quarterly check)

Use Case Recommendations

Choose Scan If You…

Need cross-browser testing:

Users access site from Safari, Firefox, mobile browsers
E-commerce site (conversions depend on all browsers working)
High-traffic public site (can’t afford browser-specific bugs)

Are non-technical:

No CLI experience
Want PDF report (not JSON)
Need automated testing (Zapier, not GitHub Actions)

Value comprehensive testing:

Schema markup validation (critical for AI visibility)
Content gap analysis (competitive SEO)
Competitor benchmarking (rank #1 vs #4 in technical quality)

Test large sites:

30-100 pages (Lighthouse requires scripting for bulk testing)
Automated page discovery (Scan crawls site, Lighthouse needs URL list)

Need WCAG compliance depth:

150+ checks (vs Lighthouse’s about 50)
ADA lawsuit risk mitigation

Choose Lighthouse If You…

Are a developer:

Comfortable with CLI tools
Integrate testing into CI/CD pipeline
Want instant local results (no waiting for external service)

Focus on Chrome:

Users primarily use Chrome (65% market share)
Internal tools (control browser environment)
Progressive Web App (PWA) testing (Lighthouse has PWA category)

Budget constraints:

Free forever (unlimited runs)
No per-test fees
No account/subscription needed

Test frequently:

Every git commit (CI/CD)
A/B testing (run 100+ tests/day)
Performance monitoring (hourly checks)

Need custom checks:

Lighthouse plugins (custom audits)
Scripting (automate with Puppeteer)

What Scan Catches That Lighthouse Misses

1. Safari-Specific Issues

Example: CSS Grid layout with auto-fill breaks in Safari 14 (works in Chrome)

Lighthouse: Passes (tests Chrome only)

Scan: Fails (tests Safari, catches bug)

Impact: 20% of users on Safari see broken layout

2. In-App Browser Issues

Example: Instagram in-app browser blocks external links (security restriction)

Lighthouse: Passes (doesn’t test in-app browsers)

Scan: Fails (tests Instagram in-app, catches issue)

Impact: 10-15% of social media traffic (Instagram/Facebook) can’t navigate site

3. Schema Markup Completeness

Example: LocalBusiness schema missing areaServed field

Lighthouse: No check (doesn’t validate schema)

Scan: Incomplete schema (missing recommended field)

Impact: Lower AI Presence Rate (AI platforms can’t determine service area)

4. Content Gaps vs Competitors (Pro)

Example: 3 competitors have “Emergency AC Repair” page, you don’t

Lighthouse: No check (doesn’t analyze competitors)

Scan Pro: Content gap identified (recommendation to create page)

Impact: Losing emergency service leads to competitors

5. Cross-Browser Performance Variance

Example: LCP 2.1s in Chrome (good), 3.8s in Firefox (needs improvement)

Lighthouse: 2.1s (Chrome only)

Scan: 2.1s Chrome, 3.8s Firefox (cross-browser variance)

Impact: 25% of users (Firefox) see slow site

Using Both Tools Together

Recommended Workflow

Development (daily):

Use Lighthouse (free, instant, local)
Catch performance/accessibility issues early
Integrate into CI/CD (Lighthouse CI)

Pre-launch (before major release):

Run Scan Essential ($25)
Verify cross-browser compatibility
Check schema markup
Final WCAG compliance check (150+ checks)

Quarterly audit (competitive analysis):

Run Scan Pro ($50)
Content gap analysis (what competitors have)
Benchmark vs top 3 competitors
Comprehensive 9-browser testing

Result: Lighthouse for dev workflow, Scan for audit covering performance, accessibility, SEO, security, and mobiles

Common Questions

Is Lighthouse really free forever?

Yes. Lighthouse is open-source (Apache 2.0 license), maintained by Google. No usage limits, no hidden fees.

Can Scan replace Lighthouse in CI/CD?

Yes, via Intelligence Token API. But Lighthouse CI is more developer-friendly (native tool, no external dependency). Scan better for non-dev teams or cross-browser CI/CD.

Which is more accurate for Core Web Vitals?

Both measure Core Web Vitals accurately for Chrome. Scan measures CWV across 9 browsers (more thorough with 150+ checks). Google Search uses Chrome CWV for rankings (Lighthouse sufficient for SEO).

Does Scan use Lighthouse under the hood?

No. Scan uses separate testing engines (pa11y for accessibility, custom performance testing, schema validators). Both measure similar metrics but with different tools.

Can I run Lighthouse on Safari/Firefox?

No. Lighthouse is Chrome-only tool (requires Chrome DevTools Protocol). Use Scan for Safari/Firefox testing.

Which tool do agencies prefer?

Agencies with dev teams: Lighthouse (free, customizable). Agencies with non-technical teams: Scan (automated, cross-browser, PDF reports). Many use both (Lighthouse for dev, Scan for client reports).

Final Recommendation

For developers: Start with Lighthouse (free, instant, CI/CD-ready)

Use daily in development
Integrate into GitHub Actions
Sufficient for Chrome-focused testing

For non-technical teams: Use Scan Essential ($25)

Cross-browser testing (9 browsers)
PDF reports (no CLI needed)
Schema markup validation
WCAG compliance depth

For agencies: Use Scan Pro ($50) quarterly + Lighthouse daily

Scan Pro: audit covering performance, accessibility, SEO, security, and mobiles, competitor analysis, content gaps
Lighthouse: Dev workflow, frequent testing, free

For e-commerce/high-traffic sites: Use both

Lighthouse: Dev testing (every commit)
Scan: Pre-launch verification (cross-browser, WCAG, schema)

Want to try Scan? Run Scan Essential ($25) for 30 pages across 9 browsers, schema validation, 150+ WCAG checks. Upgrade to Pro ($50) for 100 pages, content gap analysis, competitor benchmarking. 7-day money-back guarantee.

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