Buying guide

Best free SEO tools

By Joonas Rotko, ex-agency co-owner, 10+ years spending real marketing budgets

Prices verified 2 Oct 2026 · How I choose, and how I earn from this page

To start SEO without a subscription, I'd start with Seobility. Its free Basic plan covers 1 site, 10 tracked keywords and site audits of up to 100 pages. Screaming Frog crawls more pages, Yoast SEO suits WordPress, and AnswerThePublic finds content ideas. Each card shows where the free tier stops.

Every tool on this page has a free plan, for

No subscription
1 user

Who this is for. Small business owners and solo marketers who want to run SEO on their own site without paying for a subscription yet. Free here means every tool stops at a limit, and reading the reports and making the fixes is still your job. Google Search Console is the first free tool to set up whatever you pick here.

Looking for something else?

Different job, different guide.

I'm ready to pay for one tool

I want to see my AI search visibility

Best AI visibility toolsCheck whether AI assistants name your business when buyers ask.

I need one specific job done

My picks for different needs

Find the line that sounds like you. Each pick links to the full reasoning below.

I want one free place to check my site's health and track a few keywords
A free Basic plan with audits and keyword tracking in one login.
Why this one
Seobility
My default
Freefree plan
Next step up, Premium: €47.92/mo annual, 300 tracked keywords
See Seobility plansAffiliate link
I want to crawl my site for broken links and redirects
The free version crawls up to a published URL cap on your own computer.
Why this one
Screaming Frog
Freefree plan
Next step up, Paid licence: $23.25/mo annual
See Screaming Frog plans
I'm on a Mac and don't want a crawl cap
Free forever, with no URL limit per crawl.
Why this one
Crawly
Freefree plan
See Crawly plans
My website runs on WordPress
The free plugin checks each page as you write it.
Why this one
Yoast SEO
Freefree plan
Next step up, Yoast SEO Premium: $9.90/mo annual
See Yoast SEO plans
I need content ideas based on what people ask
A free account gives a few searches a day.
Why this one
AnswerThePublic
Freefree plan
Next step up, Starter: €13.33/mo annual, 100 keyword lookups
See AnswerThePublic plans
I want to see Ahrefs data for my website before I pay
Free for sites you can verify you own. The paid plans have no trial.
Why this one
Ahrefs
Freefree plan
Next step up, Lite: $108/mo annual, 5 sites
See Ahrefs plans

The tools side by side

Each row is the free plan or free version of the tool. The free limits are on each tool's card below, because they are measured in different units.

a free start: plan priced, monthly and annual cost, Free plan
Tool and plan	Cost per month	Free plan
SeobilityBasic (free)	Free	Free plan and a 14-day trial
Screaming FrogFree version	Free	Free plan
CrawlyFree	Free	Free plan
Yoast SEO(free plugin)	Free	Free plan
AnswerThePublicFree (registered)	Free	Free plan and a 7-day trial
AhrefsFree	Free	Free account, no trial
MangoolsFree	Free	Free plan

Prices are in each vendor's own currency. Seobility and AnswerThePublic charge in euros. Crawly charges in pounds. Those rows are never ranked against, or subtracted from, the dollar prices.

Seven picks, in the order I'd consider them

Each one says who it is for, what it costs for a free start, and what you give up.

Seobility

Free plan with audits

Hands-on

Choose it if

You want audits, keyword tracking and a site overview in one free login, and a euro price list suits you if you upgrade later.

Consider Screaming Frog instead if

You need to crawl more than 100 pages in one go. Its free crawler goes up to 500 URLs.

Why it fits a free start

Basic is a real plan rather than a trial: 1 site, 10 tracked keywords and audits of up to 100 pages. It is the only free option here that puts crawling and keyword tracking behind one login.

The plan I priced

I priced the free Basic plan. The first step up is Premium: €59.90/month billed monthly, or €47.92/month billed annually if you pay yearly, in euros. Seobility also publishes a separate dollar price list, and I use the euro list only.

Closest alternative

Screaming Frog becomes the better choice when your site is bigger than the 100-page audit cap and you want a full technical crawl.

A free start: Basic (free)

Free plan

Free

Next step up, Premium: €47.92/mo annual, 300 tracked keywords

Premium raises the page, project and keyword limits and adds Google AI Overview tracking.

Above 10 tracked keywords: Premium (+€47.92/mo billed annually).

The trade-off

100 pages per audit is a small cap, so a bigger site gets only a partial audit. Basic also allows 5 tool credits a day.

What my review says

Best for: A small site owner who wants audits and a few tracked keywords in one free login.

Skip it if your site is bigger than the audit cap, or you need AI prompt tracking today.

Strengths

The free Basic plan covers 1 site, 10 tracked keywords and audits of up to 100 pages.
Basic is a standing free plan, not a trial that expires.
A 14-day trial on the paid plans if you outgrow it.

Limits

Basic allows 5 tool credits a day.
The first paid step, Premium, is €59.90/month billed monthly.
AI prompt tracking is announced but still Coming Soon.

See Seobility plans My Seobility review Seobility pricingAffiliate link

Screaming Frog

Free up to a published URL cap

Hands-on

Choose it if

You want raw crawl data on your own computer and your site fits under the free URL cap.

Consider Crawly instead if

You use a Mac and want no URL cap at all. Crawly has none, and it costs nothing.

Why it fits a free start

The free version crawls up to 500 URLs, which is enough for a small site. You get the standard technical checks (broken links, redirects, page titles, meta data) without an account.

The plan I priced

I priced the free version. Removing the URL cap means buying a licence, $23.25/month billed annually, per user. There is no monthly option.

Closest alternative

Crawly becomes the better choice when you are on a Mac and your site is larger than the free cap.

Screaming Frog homepage, captured 2 Oct 2026

A free start: Free version

Free plan

Free

Next step up, Paid licence: $23.25/mo annual

A licence removes the URL cap and adds JavaScript rendering, scheduling and the Google Analytics and Search Console connections.

Above 500 URLs per audit: Paid licence (+$23.25/mo billed annually).

The trade-off

The free version doesn't render JavaScript or schedule crawls, and it has no Google Analytics or Search Console connection. It is also a desktop app with a spreadsheet-style interface, so it takes some getting used to.

What my review says

Best for: A small site owner who wants a free, no-account crawl of a site that fits under the free cap.

Skip it if you want scheduled crawls, a hosted dashboard, or a crawl of a larger site without paying for a licence.

Strengths

The free version covers broken links, redirects, page titles, meta data, hreflang and XML sitemaps.
One paid licence removes the URL cap and adds JavaScript rendering, scheduling and the Google Analytics and Search Console connections.
Runs on Windows, macOS and Linux.

Limits

The free version cannot render JavaScript or schedule crawls.
The licence is per user and renews yearly, there is no monthly plan.
It is a desktop app, so a crawl uses your own memory and storage.

See Screaming Frog plans My Screaming Frog reviewNo affiliate link: plain link

Crawly

Free crawler, no URL cap

Hands-on

Choose it if

You use a Mac and want an uncapped crawl at no cost.

Consider Screaming Frog instead if

You are on Windows or Linux. Crawly lists those as coming soon.

Why it fits a free start

Crawly crawls an unlimited number of URLs, surfaces 19 issue types automatically and can compare two crawls. For a small site owner on a Mac that removes the one limit that bites in Screaming Frog's free version.

The plan I priced

There is one plan and it is free. The vendor states it has no licence and no URL cap, so there is no price step to plan for.

Closest alternative

Screaming Frog becomes the better choice when you need Windows or Linux, or the JavaScript rendering and scheduling that its paid licence adds.

A free start: Free

Free plan

Free

The trade-off

It runs on macOS only for now. The vendor says optional paid features for teams and agencies may arrive later, and that the core crawler will stay free.

What my review says

Best for: A Mac-using site owner who wants an uncapped crawl at no cost.

Skip it if you work on Windows or Linux, which the vendor lists as coming soon.

Strengths

Free with no URL cap per crawl.
It compares two crawls, so you can check what changed after you fix things.
It audits hreflang and generates XML sitemaps.

Limits

macOS only for now.
The vendor says paid features for teams and agencies may arrive later.
Its pricing page does not document JavaScript rendering or scheduled crawls.

See Crawly plans My Crawly reviewNo affiliate link: plain link

Yoast SEO

Free WordPress SEO

Hands-on

Choose it if

Your site is on WordPress and you want on-page checks inside the editor.

Consider Seobility instead if

Your site isn't on WordPress. Yoast is a plugin, so it needs WordPress, and Seobility works on any site.

Why it fits a free start

It sits inside the WordPress editor, so the checks happen where you write. It is the one free tool here that works on a page while you are drafting it, rather than after it is live.

The plan I priced

I priced the free plugin. Premium is $9.90/month billed annually per site and carries a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Closest alternative

Seobility becomes the better choice when you also want site audits and keyword tracking, or your site is not on WordPress.

A free start: Yoast SEO (free plugin)

Free plan

Free

Next step up, Yoast SEO Premium: $9.90/mo annual

Premium adds the redirect manager, internal linking suggestions and SEO workouts.

The trade-off

Redirects, internal linking suggestions and SEO workouts are Premium only. Yoast is also an on-page tool, not a crawler, a keyword tool or a rank tracker.

What my review says

Best for: WordPress owners who want on-page checks for free and one paid step for redirects and internal links.

Skip it if your site is not on WordPress; Yoast is a plugin, not a standalone keyword or rank-tracking tool.

Strengths

The free plugin stays free, per Yoast's own FAQ.
Premium has a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Local, News and Video SEO plugins are bundled into Premium.

Limits

Premium is priced per site, so each extra site needs its own subscription (bulk discounts apply).
Redirects, internal linking suggestions and SEO workouts are Premium only.
Only an annual price is shown for Premium; no monthly option appears on the page.

See Yoast SEO plans My Yoast SEO reviewNo affiliate link: plain link

AnswerThePublic

Free tier for content ideas

Hands-on

Choose it if

You write your own content and want to see what people ask about a topic before you start.

Consider Mangools instead if

You want a keyword research tool with difficulty scores rather than question ideas.

Why it fits a free start

A free account gives 3 searches a day and keeps a history of past searches. That is enough for a weekly session of picking what to write next.

The plan I priced

I priced the free account, in euros. The first paid step is Starter: €20/month billed monthly, which adds search volume and cost-per-click data.

Closest alternative

Mangools becomes the better choice when you want keyword research beyond question ideas.

AnswerThePublic homepage, captured 2 Oct 2026

A free start: Free (registered)

Free plan

Free

Next step up, Starter: €13.33/mo annual, 100 keyword lookups

Starter adds search volume and cost-per-click data and a content studio for AI articles.

Above 3 keyword lookups: Starter (+€13.33/mo billed annually).

The trade-off

The free tier stops at 3 searches a day, and the vendor reserves a stack of features for paid users without listing them.

What my review says

Best for: Owners hunting for question-style content ideas before they write.

Skip it if you need keyword difficulty or rank tracking; the plans list search volume and CPC data, not difficulty.

Strengths

A free account with 3 daily searches and a history of past searches.
Search volume and cost-per-click data on every paid plan.
Content Studio publishes to WordPress on every paid plan.

Limits

The free tier stops at a daily search count, and the page names only a vague 'stack of features' reserved for paid users.
No refund beyond a one-time 7-day trial on monthly plans.
Starter has no compare-over-time view and no priority support.

See AnswerThePublic plans My AnswerThePublic reviewNo affiliate link: plain link

Ahrefs

Free account for sites you own

Hands-on

Choose it if

You have a site you can verify and want to see Ahrefs ranking keywords, backlinks and audit results for it before deciding on a paid plan.

Consider Seobility instead if

You want a free plan with published limits you can plan around.

Why it fits a free start

Ahrefs says its free account lets you check ranking keywords, backlinks and run site audits for websites you can verify ownership for. The paid plans have no free trial, so the free account is the only way to see the data before you pay.

The plan I priced

I priced the free account. The first paid step is Lite: $129/month billed monthly, or $108/month billed annually if you pay yearly.

Closest alternative

Seobility becomes the better choice when you want audits and keyword tracking from a free plan with published limits.

A free start: Ahrefs Free

Free plan

Free

Next step up, Lite: $108/mo annual, 5 sites

Lite is the first paid plan.

The trade-off

The free account covers only sites you can verify you own, and Ahrefs publishes no numeric limit for it. The paid plans have no free trial.

What my review says

Best for: A site owner who can verify their own site and wants Ahrefs data on it before choosing a paid plan.

Skip it if you want to look at competitors' sites, or you want a trial of the paid plans.

Strengths

The free account shows ranking keywords, backlinks and site audit results for sites you verify.
It is a separate free account, so you can look before you pay anything.
The first paid plan, Lite, is $108/month billed annually.

Limits

There is no free trial of the paid plans.
The free account covers only sites you can verify you own.
Ahrefs publishes no numeric limit for the free account.

See Ahrefs plans My Ahrefs reviewNo affiliate link: plain link

Mangools

Free plan, no card needed

Hands-on

Choose it if

Keyword research is the main job and you want to try the Mangools tools before you pay.

Consider Seobility instead if

You want site audits and a free plan with published limits.

Why it fits a free start

Mangools says its Free plan is completely free and needs no credit card to activate. It lets you try the keyword tools before choosing a paid plan, but it is last on this list because it publishes no limits for that free plan.

The plan I priced

I priced the free plan. The first paid step is Basic: $61/month billed monthly, or $37.70/month billed annually if you pay yearly.

Closest alternative

AnswerThePublic becomes the better choice when what you want is content ideas, not keyword metrics.

A free start: Free

Free plan

Free

Next step up, Mangools Basic: $37.70/mo annual, 200 tracked keywords

Basic is the first paid plan.

The trade-off

The limits of the free plan are not published on Mangools' plans page, so the table shows none. The paid plans start at $61/month billed monthly.

What my review says

Best for: Someone whose main job is keyword research and who wants to try Mangools before paying.

Skip it if you need the free limits in writing before you commit, because Mangools doesn't publish them.

Strengths

The Free plan needs no credit card to activate.
Basic, the first paid step, tracks 200 keywords and 500 AI prompts.
A 48-hour money-back guarantee applies after you pay.

Limits

The Free plan's limits are not published on the plans page.
Basic is $61/month billed monthly, a real step up from free.
Refunds only within 48 hours of paying.

See Mangools plans My Mangools reviewAffiliate link

Other options, and why they missed the list

A tool made this list only if its free tier does real work on a small site, not a trial that runs out. Google's own free tools (Search Console, PageSpeed Insights, Keyword Planner) are worth using too, but they are Google services rather than software I compare.

Seodisias
A free desktop crawler with no URL cap. A second option beside Crawly if you are on Windows or Linux.
Semrush
Has a limited free plan, but it is a taste of a paid suite, not a toolkit to run SEO on.
Moz
Moz Community is a separate free tier from its paid plans.
Ubersuggest
A budget suite with keyword research, site audits and an AI writer.
Keywords Everywhere
A browser extension that shows keyword data beside Google results.

How I chose, and how I earn from this page

Who is behind this guide

Joonas Rotko

I co-ran a marketing agency in Finland and spent more than ten years buying SEO and marketing software with real client budgets. I write these guides for the person who has to pay for the tool and use it.

Hands-on with 7 of these 7 tools
Prices checked 2 Oct 2026
How this page earns

More about me and how I review

Affiliate disclosure

Links to Seobility and Mangools are affiliate links, so I may earn a commission if you upgrade through them, at no extra cost to you. I put Seobility first because it is the one free plan here that puts both an audit cap and a tracked-keyword limit in writing, not because of the commission. Mangools is last even though I have an affiliate link for it, because it publishes no limits for its free plan. I have no affiliate link for Screaming Frog, Crawly, Yoast SEO, AnswerThePublic or Ahrefs, and they are here on merit. A free tool earns me nothing until someone upgrades, and no link changes a price or a verdict.

How this guide was prepared

What I did

Each free limit is a number or feature the vendor lists for its own free tier, stored with the source link and the date I checked it. Where a vendor lists no limit, the page says so instead of filling one in.
Every pick is shown at its free tier with the first paid step beside it, so you can see what crossing a limit costs before you hit it.
Seobility and AnswerThePublic list euros and Crawly lists pounds, so those prices stay in their own currency and are never set against the dollar prices.
The Hands-on tag on a card marks a tool with a hands-on record. The free limits themselves still come from the vendors' own pages.

What to keep in mind

Vendors change free tiers without notice. The date next to each source is the day I last checked it.
Mangools has a free plan but doesn't publish what it includes, so the table shows no limit for it.
Ahrefs describes its free account in general terms and gives no numeric limit on its pricing page.
Yoast's free plugin is limited by features, not by usage: redirects, internal linking suggestions and SEO workouts sit in Premium.

Sources and verification dates

Seobility pricing and limits checked 29 Sep 2026
Screaming Frog pricing and limits checked 2 Oct 2026
Crawly pricing and limits checked 2 Oct 2026
Yoast SEO pricing and limits checked 2 Oct 2026
AnswerThePublic pricing and limits checked 2 Oct 2026
Ahrefs pricing and limits checked 30 Sep 2026
Mangools pricing and limits checked 1 Oct 2026

Prices and limits checked on 10 vendor pages. Oldest check: 29 Sep 2026.

2 Oct 2026: First Best V2 version: the ranked list is rebuilt from verified plan facts, with each pick shown at its free tier and the first paid step beside it.

Spot something out of date?Vendors and readers, send me the correct fact.

Software sites change almost every week, and I want every claim on this page to be factually correct. If you are a vendor or a reader, send me the correct fact and a link to the official page. I will check it and update the page. The opinions and rankings stay mine.

Questions people ask

Is Google Search Console enough for SEO?

It is the first free tool to set up, because it shows how your own site performs in Google: which searches show it, which pages get clicks, and which pages Google can't index. It does not crawl your site like a crawler, suggest keywords or check content as you write. Use it alongside one or two tools from this list.

What is the best free tool for rank tracking?

Seobility's free Basic plan tracks 10 keywords, and it is the one free plan here that publishes a tracked-keyword limit. Search Console also shows your average position for the searches that already bring you impressions. Neither replaces a paid tracker once you watch more keywords than that.

When should I start paying for SEO software?

Pay when a free limit stops your work, not before. Screaming Frog's free version stops at 500 URLs, and a licence is $23.25/month billed annually. Seobility's Basic plan covers 1 site and 10 keywords, and Premium is €59.90/month billed monthly. AnswerThePublic allows 3 searches a day, and Starter is €20/month billed monthly. Yoast Premium is $9.90/month billed annually and adds redirects and internal linking suggestions.

Which free SEO tools do I need besides Google Search Console?

Cover a few jobs, not every tool: a crawl for broken links and missing titles (Screaming Frog, Crawly or Seobility), keyword or content ideas (AnswerThePublic or Mangools), and on-page checks while you write (Yoast SEO on WordPress). Start with the crawl, fix what it finds, then add the next job.

Are there free alternatives to Ahrefs and Semrush?

Not for the same job. Ahrefs and Semrush both give limited data on a free account or plan, and both sell the real tool as a paid suite. For a small business, a free crawler plus Search Console plus a keyword ideas tool covers most of what you would use at first.

Can I try the paid plans first?

Seobility has a 14-day trial on paid plans, and AnswerThePublic has a 7-day trial. Ahrefs has no free trial of its paid plans, only a free account. Yoast Premium has a 30-day money-back guarantee, and Mangools refunds within 48 hours of paying.

Do I need SEO experience to use these free tools?

Some, and free tools give you less help than paid ones. Screaming Frog and Crawly hand you a long list of URLs and issues without ranking which matter, Yoast scores a page against its own checklist, and AnswerThePublic lists questions without telling you which to answer. Seobility keeps the audit and the keyword tracking in one login, so it is the easiest place to start if you have never read a crawl report.

Best free SEO tools

Looking for something else?

I'm ready to pay for one tool

I want to see my AI search visibility

I need one specific job done

My picks for different needs

The tools side by side

Seven picks, in the order I'd consider them

Seobility

Screaming Frog

Crawly

Yoast SEO

AnswerThePublic

Ahrefs

Mangools

Other options, and why they missed the list

How I chose, and how I earn from this page

Joonas Rotko

Affiliate disclosure

Questions people ask

Compare two of them head to head

The SEO and AI visibility software worth your money, and the ones that are not