Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Babel VS PageSpeed Insights

Compare Babel VS PageSpeed Insights and see what are their differences

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Babel logo Babel

Babel is a compiler for writing next generation JavaScript.

PageSpeed Insights logo PageSpeed Insights

PageSpeed is addon for ...
  • Babel Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-02
  • PageSpeed Insights Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-01-02

Babel features and specs

  • JavaScript Version Compatibility
    Babel allows developers to write code using the latest JavaScript features and syntax, and transpile it into a version of JavaScript that can run on older browsers. This ensures greater compatibility across different environments.
  • Future-Proof Code
    With Babel, developers can start using upcoming JavaScript features today. This means that codebases can stay modern and developers can take advantage of new functionalities without waiting for full browser support.
  • Ecosystem and Plugins
    Babel has a rich ecosystem of plugins and presets that can extend its capabilities, making it highly adaptable to different project needs. This modularity allows for customization and enhancement of the build process.
  • Integration with Modern Development Tools
    Babel integrates well with various development tools such as Webpack, making it easier to include in existing build processes and workflows. This helps streamline development and maintain efficient workflows.
  • Community and Support
    Babel has a large and active community, which means extensive documentation, tutorials, and support forums. This can be particularly useful for troubleshooting and staying updated with best practices.

Possible disadvantages of Babel

  • Performance Overhead
    Transpiling code with Babel introduces a performance overhead during the build process. This can slow down development workflows, especially for large codebases with many files.
  • Configuration Complexity
    Setting up Babel can be complex, particularly for beginners. The numerous options and plugins available can sometimes be overwhelming and require significant time to configure correctly.
  • Source Map Issues
    Generating accurate source maps can sometimes be tricky with Babel, leading to difficulties in debugging. Misconfigured source maps can make it harder to track down issues within the original source code.
  • Dependency Bloat
    Including Babel in a project can add a significant number of dependencies. This dependency bloat can increase the size of the project and potentially introduce maintenance challenges or security vulnerabilities.
  • Learning Curve
    There is a learning curve associated with Babel, especially for developers who are new to modern JavaScript tooling. Understanding how Babel works and how to effectively use its features can take time and effort.

PageSpeed Insights features and specs

  • Comprehensive Analysis
    PageSpeed Insights provides a thorough analysis of both mobile and desktop versions of your website, offering insights into performance, accessibility, best practices, and SEO metrics.
  • Actionable Recommendations
    The tool offers specific, actionable recommendations to improve page load times and overall site performance, making it easier for developers to implement necessary changes.
  • Integration with Other Google Tools
    PageSpeed Insights seamlessly integrates with other Google tools such as Google Analytics and Search Console, providing a more holistic view of your website's performance.
  • User Experience Metrics
    It measures Core Web Vitals, which are essential for understanding user experience metrics like loading time, interactivity, and visual stability.
  • Free to Use
    The tool is completely free, making it accessible for developers, businesses, and individuals without any associated cost.

Possible disadvantages of PageSpeed Insights

  • Limited Historical Data
    PageSpeed Insights doesn't maintain historical data or trends, making it difficult to track progress over time directly within the tool.
  • Lack of Advanced Features
    While it's excellent for basic to intermediate analysis, it lacks some advanced features and customization options found in paid tools like GTmetrix or WebPageTest.
  • Potential for Misinterpretation
    The results and recommendations can sometimes be technical and difficult for non-developers to understand, leading to potential misinterpretation or incorrect implementation.
  • Server Dependency
    The tool's performance score can be influenced by server locations and current network conditions, which may not always provide a consistent assessment.
  • Lag in Updates
    There can be a lag in updates to reflect the most recent changes in web development practices and Google’s own algorithms, meaning the tool might not always offer the latest best practices.

Analysis of Babel

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Babel is widely considered a good tool for modern JavaScript development. It eases the use of cutting-edge JavaScript features and ensures broader compatibility, which is crucial for many projects. Its active community and continuous updates reflect its standing as a reliable and well-supported choice.

Why this product is good

  • Babel is a popular JavaScript compiler that allows developers to use the latest JavaScript features while maintaining compatibility with older environments that may not support these features natively. It transforms modern JavaScript code into a version that can run in current and older browsers or environments. Babel is highly configurable and has a rich ecosystem of plugins and presets that enable developers to tailor it to their specific needs, making development smoother and more efficient.

Recommended for

    Babel is recommended for web developers who want to write modern JavaScript but need to ensure that their code remains functional across different environments and older browsers. It is also valuable for projects where developers aspire to use the latest ECMAScript features without waiting for broad native support.

Analysis of PageSpeed Insights

Overall verdict

  • Yes, PageSpeed Insights is considered to be a good and effective tool for assessing and optimizing web page performance.

Why this product is good

  • PageSpeed Insights, provided by Google, is a valuable tool for analyzing the performance of web pages. It offers specific suggestions to improve page load times, which is crucial for both user experience and search engine optimization. It evaluates both mobile and desktop versions of a website and provides actionable insights tailored for each. The tool is also easy to use and integrates easily into the workflow of developers and site owners.

Recommended for

  • Web developers looking to optimize their sites for better performance.
  • SEO specialists who want to ensure that their pages load quickly and efficiently.
  • Site owners eager to improve user experience by understanding how their sites perform on different devices.
  • Anyone interested in identifying and resolving issues that can slow down their web pages.

Babel videos

Babel - Movie Review

More videos:

  • Review - Day 16 | Babel Review | 365 Films
  • Review - Worth The Hype? - BABEL Review
  • Review - Book CommuniTEA: Is BABEL a rac1st mani!fest0? [you should know the answer]
  • Review - Babel is a Masterpiece, And Here's Why

PageSpeed Insights videos

The New Google PageSpeed Insights & How To Use It

More videos:

  • Review - Ezoic Site Speed Accelerator Review — 100 Google PageSpeed Insights Scores on Mobile and Desktop?

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Babel and PageSpeed Insights)
Development Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Website Monitoring
0 0%
100% 100
Javascript UI Libraries
100 100%
0% 0
Performance Monitoring
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Babel might be a bit more popular than PageSpeed Insights. We know about 147 links to it since March 2021 and only 112 links to PageSpeed Insights. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Babel mentions (147)

  • Valentine’s Day Breakup: React Dumps Create React App
    Create React App (CRA) is a command-line interface tool that allows developers to set up a React project easily. It primarily serves as a project scaffolding tool, allowing you to create a new project with a single command: npx create-react-app . CRA comes with tools like Webpack and Babel, which handle the bundling and transpiling of code. The tools are pre-configured. It comes with a development server that... - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • #wecode Landing Page - WeCoded Challenge March 2025
    @vitejs/plugin-react uses Babel for Fast Refresh. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • You Don’t Know JS Yet: My Weekly Journey Through JavaScript Mastery
    For new and incompatible syntax, the solution is transpiling—converting newer JS syntax to older syntax that can run on older engines. The most popular transpiler? Babel. This process ensures modern JS code can still reach a wide audience, even on legacy systems. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Desktop apps for Windows XP in 2025
    Fortunately we have tools like PostCSS and Babel, that let you target your specific Browser version, and they'll do their best to transpile and polyfill your code to work with that version. This alone will do a lot of the heavy lifting for you if you are working with a lot of code. However, if you are just writing out a few HTML, CSS, and JS files, then that would be overkill and you can just figure out what code... - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • The Tools and APIs That Made My GeoGuessr 🌍 Project Possible
    Cross-Browser Compatibility: Some features worked differently across browsers. I used Babel to transpile my JavaScript code, ensuring it worked consistently everywhere. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
View more

PageSpeed Insights mentions (112)

  • 100+ Must-Have Web Development Resources
    Google PageSpeed Insights: Tests your site and provides optimization suggestions. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • How to Create an Awesome Landing Page 💻 📱 with Tailwind CSS(Step-by-Step guide)
    Monitoring and Profiling: Use tools like Google's PageSpeed Insights or Web.dev Measure to analyze your page's performance and get actionable recommendations. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Best Resources For Web Developers 💻 [HTML + CSS + JavaScript]
    Google PageSpeed Insights - Analyze the performance of your web pages and get suggestions for improvement. Website: https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Being sued for not complying with WCAG 2.1 AA standards
    Try Google's Lighthouse test instead (aka PageSpeed Insights). It's primarily for testing performance but also gives a score for accessibility, with tips and links to articles on how to solve any issues it detects. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Enable text compression using React, Webpack and Apache
    Const CompressionPlugin = require('compression-webpack-plugin');... plugins: [ new CompressionPlugin({ filename: "[path].gz[query]", algorithm: "gzip", test: /\.(js|css)$/i, }),... When I used page insights to check how fast my webpage loads, it looks like my gz files aren't recognized, or at least one of them isn't recognized. Source: about 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Babel and PageSpeed Insights, you can also consider the following products

jQuery - The Write Less, Do More, JavaScript Library.

GTmetrix - GTmetrix is a free tool that analyzes your page's speed performance. Using PageSpeed and YSlow, GTmetrix generates scores for your pages and offers actionable recommendations on how to fix them.

React Native - A framework for building native apps with React

Google Lighthouse - Lighthouse is an open-source, automated tool for improving the quality of web pages.

Composer - Composer is a tool for dependency management in PHP.

WebPagetest - Run a free website speed test from multiple locations around the globe using real browsers...