Smartlook is a behavioural analytics platform — session recordings, heatmaps, funnel analysis, and rage-click detection to understand how users interact with your web and mobile products. PageGuard monitors your website’s public-facing health — WCAG accessibility, Core Web Vitals, SEO, and ADA compliance — with zero script required, from $9/mo.
ADA Title II Deadline: April 24, 2026
State and local government websites must meet WCAG 2.1 AA. Smartlook records visitor sessions and generates heatmaps but provides no accessibility auditing or ADA compliance monitoring. PageGuard monitors accessibility continuously — alerting you before violations occur.
| Feature | PageGuard | Smartlook |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ✓ Free + from $9/mo (automated website health monitoring) | Free plan (3,000 sessions/mo); paid from $55/mo (Startup) to custom enterprise; pricing scales with session volume |
| Who is it for? | Small businesses, designers, agencies — frontend health, ADA compliance & SEO | Product and UX teams wanting session recordings, heatmaps, funnel analysis, and rage-click detection |
| Accessibility audit (WCAG / ADA) | ✓ Yes — WCAG 2.1 AA scored 0–100 with specific issue list | No — no accessibility scoring or WCAG compliance checks |
| Technical SEO audit | ✓ Yes — meta tags, headings, canonical, structured data, robots.txt | No — no SEO auditing capabilities |
| Performance scoring (Core Web Vitals) | ✓ Yes — LCP, CLS, FCP scored 0–100 with fix recommendations | No — no Core Web Vitals scoring or front-end performance auditing |
| Session replay | No — focuses on technical health monitoring, not recordings | ✓ Yes — full session recordings with rage-click, error-click, and u-turn detection |
| Heatmaps | No — scans public HTML health, not click maps | ✓ Yes — click, move, and scroll heatmaps with segment and device filters |
| Requires JS snippet installation | ✓ No — zero setup, scan any public URL instantly | Yes — requires Smartlook tracking snippet on every page before data collection |
| ADA Title II compliance monitoring | ✓ Yes — WCAG audit + automated email alert on accessibility regression | No — no ADA compliance features or alerts |
| Continuous automated monitoring & alerts | ✓ Yes — weekly or daily scans with email alerts on score drops | No — passive behavioural recording; no proactive website health alerts |
| Best Practices audit (HTTPS, security headers) | ✓ Yes — HTTPS enforcement, security headers, image optimisation | No — no front-end best practices auditing |
| No-signup instant scan | ✓ Yes — scan any URL in ~30 seconds, no account required | No — requires account creation and script installation; free plan limited to 3,000 sessions/mo |
| Mobile app analytics | No — focused on public web health, not mobile app instrumentation | ✓ Yes — native iOS and Android SDK with session replay and crash reporting |
| AI-generated plain-English report | ✓ Yes — explains technical issues in non-technical language | No — behaviour data dashboards require UX/analytics expertise to interpret |
| Multi-site management | Yes — monitor up to 50 sites from $9/mo | Yes — multiple projects supported; session quota shared or per-project |
Unlike Smartlook, no snippet installation, no account required. Performance + Accessibility + SEO + Best Practices scored in 30 seconds.
Results in ~30 seconds. 4 scores: Performance, Accessibility, SEO, Best Practices.
They solve different problems. Smartlook records user sessions, generates heatmaps, detects rage-clicks, and provides mobile app analytics — built for product and UX teams understanding visitor behaviour. PageGuard monitors your public-facing website health — WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility scoring, Core Web Vitals, technical SEO, and ADA compliance alerts. Many teams use both: Smartlook to understand visitor behaviour, PageGuard to ensure the site is technically healthy and accessible for all visitors.
No — Smartlook does not provide WCAG 2.1 AA compliance scoring or ADA accessibility monitoring. It is a behavioural analytics platform focused on session replay, heatmaps, funnel analysis, and rage-click detection — not the technical accessibility of public web pages. With the ADA Title II deadline on April 24, 2026, PageGuard provides the accessibility monitoring that Smartlook cannot.
PageGuard is free for on-demand website health audits — no tracking script, no account, zero setup. While Smartlook has a free plan for up to 3,000 sessions/month, it does not monitor website health, accessibility, or SEO. PageGuard lets you scan any public URL and receive a scored report covering Performance, Accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA), SEO, and Best Practices in ~30 seconds. Automated monitoring starts at $9/month.
Yes — they are complementary tools. Use Smartlook to understand how real visitors interact with and navigate your site (session replay, heatmaps, funnel analysis, rage-click detection) and PageGuard to ensure your public-facing pages are technically healthy and accessible (WCAG audit, SEO audit, Core Web Vitals, ADA compliance monitoring). Together: Smartlook for “how are visitors behaving and where do they get frustrated”, PageGuard for “is the site technically healthy and ADA-compliant for all visitors”.