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I recently managed to get the Garchompite in Pokémon Y, and I’ve heard that Garchomp loses speed when it Mega Evolves. Is Mega Garchomp still a good Pokémon to use competitively, or is the speed drop too severe?

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Most of the time, yes. The speed loss is further compounded by the fact that you cannot hold a mega stone. Mega Chomp may look awesome but that loss in speed really hurt. Being unable to outspeed Charizard and Salamence is a huge deal since that was one of the things that made Garchomp so good

It's ability, sand force, is also next to useless. Sure it boosts it's ground, rock and steel type moves but does it really need that much? I think no since the only time that would truly matter is against unaware Clefable. Plus, in sand, regular Garchomp is even better because it can threaten to end the game due to how annoying the rng is

The one saving grace of Mega Garchomp is that in gen six, mega evolution keeps the speed of the base Pokemon on the turn it mega evolves. That means, for one single turn, you get the best of both worlds, Garchomp's troll speed and it's mega form's massive attack stat

Make no mistake though, Mega Garchomp is still a very powerful Pokemon. The problem is unlike regular Garchomp, it isn't as easy to put in teams. In fact, I think the best way to use it is to build a team around it rather than slap it on teams. But the bottomline is, Mega Garchomp is one of those specialized Pokemon and just like in life, you're only gonna want something specialized when you need its uses

In gen seven, Mega Garchomp actually fares quite better. Since mega evolution speed mechanics change, it can afford not to go for a +speed nature. In fact, the four most dominant Pokemon, Landorus Therian, Heatran, Toxapex and Magearna are all mauled by it's mixed set, sometimes even outright killed in one shot if they've been chipped enough but still, it does not change the fact that it remains a specialized Pokemon

So, in short, Garchomp is a swiss army knife, meaning it's versatile and easy to slap on teams. It's Mega form is a kommando tri dagger I guess and is very specialized. The final answer to your original question is yes, Garchomp is better in its regular form simply because it's easier to put on teams and since it's not restricted by a mega stone, it can take full advantage of it's greatest strength, versatility

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Wow, you’ve really helped me out a lot! Thanks! It’s a shame though, cos like you said, Mega Garchomp does look absolutely awesome (Opal from sword/shield would love its shiny lol) and I’ll probably still use it for regular play, just not competitive.
But now Garchomp gets Scale Shot so if Mega Evolutions return then it'll be quite scary
If it actually hits that is
I just wanna add to my answer. Garchomp is a pokemon that's versatile, that much is obvious. Don't think of Mega Garchomp as its mega form but more like, just another knife in the belt, a card to play with so to speak
Ok, thanks for all your help! Garchomp is one of my favourite Pokémon (probably my second favourite behind Lucario) so it’s good to know about it’s viability competitively!