DebugBear goes deep on performance metrics. PageGuard covers performance plus accessibility, SEO, and best practices — with a free tier and ADA compliance monitoring built in.
ADA Title II Deadline: April 24, 2026
State and local government websites must meet WCAG 2.1 AA. DebugBear does not audit accessibility. PageGuard monitors both performance AND accessibility automatically, alerting you to regressions before they become compliance violations.
| Feature | PageGuard | DebugBear |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ✓ Free + from $9/mo | From $35/mo (no free plan — 14-day trial only) |
| Who is it for? | Small businesses, designers, agencies — ongoing site monitoring | Performance-focused developers and agencies needing Core Web Vitals depth |
| Free tier | ✓ Yes — unlimited one-off scans, no signup required | No — 14-day trial only, credit card required |
| Accessibility audit | ✓ Yes — WCAG 2.1 AA scored 0–100 with issue list | No — performance-only tool |
| SEO audit | ✓ Yes — technical SEO checklist and SEO score | No |
| Best Practices audit | ✓ Yes — security headers, HTTPS, mobile-friendliness | No |
| Performance depth | Core Web Vitals (LCP, CLS, FCP) scored 0–100 | ✓ Deep performance: Lighthouse, WebPageTest, CrUX, filmstrip, waterfall |
| Automated monitoring | Yes — weekly or daily scans, email alerts on score drop | Yes — continuous monitoring with alerts |
| Email alerts on regression | Yes — notified when any score drops | Yes — performance regression alerts |
| Score history & trends | Yes — 7 to 365 days depending on plan | Yes — detailed historical performance charts |
| AI-generated report | ✓ Yes — plain-English explanation of all issues | No |
| Shareable report URL | ✓ Yes — public link, no login required to view | No — reports are private |
| Scan multiple sites | Yes — up to 50 sites (Agency plan) | Yes — unlimited sites on paid plans |
| ADA compliance monitoring | ✓ Yes — WCAG audit + ADA urgency tracking | No — accessibility not covered |
| No install required | Yes — web app, works in any browser | Yes — web app |
Performance + Accessibility + SEO + Best Practices in 30 seconds. Unlike DebugBear, no signup required.
Results in ~30 seconds. 4 scores: Performance, Accessibility, SEO, Best Practices.
They solve different problems. DebugBear is a specialist performance tool with deep Core Web Vitals analysis — ideal for performance engineers. PageGuard is an all-in-one site health monitor covering Performance, Accessibility, SEO, and Best Practices, with a free tier and no credit card required. If you need ADA compliance monitoring or SEO audits, PageGuard is the better fit. If you need filmstrip and waterfall performance debugging, DebugBear is more powerful.
No. DebugBear is focused exclusively on web performance (Core Web Vitals, LCP, CLS, FID). It does not audit WCAG compliance, ADA accessibility, or SEO. If accessibility monitoring matters — especially with the ADA Title II deadline on April 24, 2026 — PageGuard covers all four dimensions in one scan.
Yes — PageGuard is free to scan any website without signup. You get a full health score covering Performance, Accessibility, SEO, and Best Practices in about 30 seconds. Automated monitoring plans start at $9/month, compared to DebugBear's $35/month starting price.
PageGuard is designed for small businesses and agencies. It's free to start, covers all four health dimensions (not just performance), provides AI-generated plain-English explanations, and alerts you by email when any score drops. DebugBear is geared toward performance engineers who need raw Core Web Vitals data — it's more technical and more expensive.