How much does the Screaming Frog API actually cost?
Screaming Frog publishes an API, but per-tier gating wasn't extracted automatically.
- Most likely scenario: API access is either included in all paid plans, or it's gated to higher tiers and we need to verify on the live docs page.
- Until verified, treat the question "which plan unlocks the API" as open. Don't budget on the assumption it's free with the cheapest paid plan.
Screaming Frog subscription pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Annual / mo |
|---|---|---|
| Free Version | — | — |
| Paid Version | — | £199 |
⚠ Per-tier API gating not yet structured for Screaming Frog. Confirm which plans unlock API access on the live docs.
Source: screamingfrog.co.uk/seo-spider/pricing. Verified 2026-06-07.
API at a glance
Screaming Frog also has an MCP server
If you're wiring Screaming Frog into Claude / Cursor / Codex, the MCP server is usually less code than the REST API.
See Screaming Frog MCP pageWhat you can build with the Screaming Frog API
Three personas, three different shapes of build. Pick the row that matches how you actually ship.
Glue Screaming Frog into your daily workflow
- Pull a digest of ranking changes into your morning Slack
- Trigger a one-off backfill when something looks off
- Pipe data into your own SQLite for ad-hoc queries
Sell Screaming Frog reporting at scale
- White-label Screaming Frog data into client-branded dashboards
- Run scheduled multi-account reports without logging into the Screaming Frog UI
- Cross-reference with the rest of the client's stack (CRM, analytics, ad spend)
Production pipelines for Screaming Frog
- Real-time sync into your warehouse on a cron
- Custom alerts the dashboard's built-in alerting can't express
- Backfill + idempotency handling for Screaming Frog data older than the dashboard exposes
Quickstart template
# Starter template — endpoint paths and SDK package names come from # the Screaming Frog API docs: https://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/guides/api/ curl -X GET "https://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/<your-endpoint>" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN" \ -H "Accept: application/json" | jq .
Template only. Endpoint paths, exact base URL, and auth header format come from screamingfrog.co.uk/guides/api.
Limits and gotchas
- No OpenAPI spec — you write typed clients by hand or use a third-party generator on the docs HTML.
- No official SDK detected. Plan on hitting the API directly with your HTTP client of choice.
- Rate limits: always read the docs page before scaling — the published limit is usually lower than the practical one and overages can be expensive.
Agent-readiness verdict
Moderate agent-fit with official MCP support. Screaming Frog has an official MCP server and documented API with OAuth, making it accessible to Claude and Gemini workflows for technical SEO audits. The lack of OpenAPI specs, SDKs, and structured outputs limits deeper integration and makes parsing crawl data require custom handling.
Screaming Frog API FAQ
Does Screaming Frog have a public API?+
What auth does the Screaming Frog API use?+
Should I use the API or the MCP server for Claude / Cursor / Codex?+
Sources
- Screaming Frog official site: https://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/seo-spider/
- API docs: https://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/guides/api/
- MCP server: https://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/guides/mcp-server/
- Pricing source: https://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/seo-spider/pricing/ (verified 2026-06-07)
10+ years in digital marketing. I review marketing software for AI-stack fit: real pricing, MCP and API support, and how cleanly each tool drops into an AI agent workflow, cross-checked against verified data and real user feedback.