How we make this list: we compare vendor pricing pages, product documentation and plan limits, and print the month we checked each price. We don’t accept payment for rankings.
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Screaming Frog is the best free SEO tool in 2026 because its free version crawls up to 500 URLs with no time limit, so it can audit a site for free. Ubersuggest ranks second for one-site keyword research and rank tracking, and AnswerThePublic is the best pick for content ideas. SimilarWeb is the only tool here with no free plan.
Key takeaways
6 of 7 tools in this list have a free plan, and the lowest paid start is $20 a month (AnswerThePublic) (Nov 2026).
Screaming Frog ranks first because its free version audits a full site of up to 500 URLs with no time limit.
Ubersuggest and Semrush give the most free access to keyword data, but both cap daily searches at 3 and 10 a day.
Ahrefs Free only works on sites you verify, and SimilarWeb has no free plan, only free tools and a 7-day trial.
Free plans suit one site and light use; expect to pay once you track competitors or more than a few dozen keywords.
The best free SEO tools let you research keywords, check rankings and audit a site without paying, but the free tiers are not equal. Some run a full audit on a small site, while others give you a few searches a day and stop. This guide ranks the 7 best free SEO tools in 2026 by what each free tier actually allows, with the paid price next to it so you can see the upgrade path.
It sits under our best SEO tools pillar, which compares the full category. If you want the cheapest paid tools instead, our guide to the best SEO tools for small business covers the low-cost paid picks.
Screaming Frog SEO Spider is a desktop crawler that visits your site the way a search engine bot does, then lists broken links, redirect chains, missing titles, duplicate pages and canonical errors in sortable tables. The free version crawls up to 500 URLs per crawl with no time limit, which covers most small business sites in full, and it also builds XML sitemaps and draws site maps.
The catch is the 500-URL ceiling and the locked extras. You cannot save and reopen crawls, render JavaScript, schedule repeat crawls or use custom extraction without the £199 yearly licence. A site over 500 pages, or a team that needs before-and-after crawl comparisons, will hit the wall fast.
What we like
Free version crawls up to 500 URLs per crawl with no time limit (Nov 2026).
Finds broken links, redirects, duplicate content and missing metadata in one pass.
One flat licence at £199 a year, with no tiers or per-seat pricing.
Watch out for
Free version stops at 500 URLs per crawl.
Saving crawls, JavaScript rendering and scheduling need the paid licence.
Desktop only, so there is no web dashboard or shared team workspace.
Starting price$29/month (Individual), or $16/month bille…
Free planYes
Free trial7 days (credit card required)
PlatformsWeb, Chrome extension
Ubersuggest is the free account that does the most jobs at once. One free account covers keyword research with search volume, rank tracking for 25 keywords, a weekly site audit of 150 pages and backlink reports, all in the same dashboard. It is the closest thing here to a free all-in-one SEO tool for a single site.
The catch is the daily meter. Three searches or reports a day runs out fast if you research more than one topic, and rank updates are weekly on desktop only. Paid Individual starts at $29 a month and lifts the cap to 150 searches a day with 125 tracked keywords.
What we like
Free account covers keywords, rank tracking and audits for one site (Nov 2026).
Individual starts at $29 a month, or $16 a month billed annually.
A one-time lifetime option exists for buyers who want to stop paying monthly.
Watch out for
Free account allows only 3 searches or reports a day.
Rank updates are weekly and desktop only on the free account.
Individual covers one project, so a second site needs a higher tier.
Semrush gives the broadest free sample in this list. The free account opens keyword research, position tracking, site audit and backlink tools on any domain, with 10 reports a day, 10 tracked keywords and a 100-page monthly audit. No other free tier here reaches across so many SEO jobs.
The catch is that the free tier is a demo, not a working plan. One demo project, 10 reports a day and 10 tracked keywords run out in a single research session, and the paid entry is $139.95 a month for Pro. Use the free account to learn the interface, then expect a big jump in cost.
What we like
Free account covers keyword, audit, backlink and rank tools on any domain.
10 reports a day is the highest daily allowance among the free plans here.
The SEOquake browser extension is free and adds metrics to any page you visit.
Watch out for
Free account is limited to one demo project and 10 tracked keywords.
Pro starts at $139.95 a month, the highest paid entry in this list.
Extra seats cost $45 to $100 a month on top of the plan price.
Mangools packs five tools into one account: KWFinder for keyword research, SERPChecker for SERP analysis, SERPWatcher for rank tracking, LinkMiner for backlinks and SiteProfiler for domain checks. The free plan gives 5 keyword lookups a day, which is enough to research one topic a day, and every paid plan includes all five tools.
The catch is the pace. Five lookups a day is thin for anyone building a content plan, and Basic updates ranks weekly rather than daily. Basic starts at $29.90 a month billed annually and raises lookups to 100 a day with 200 tracked keywords.
What we like
Free plan gives 5 keyword lookups a day across the full five-tool suite (Nov 2026).
KWFinder difficulty scores are easy to read for beginners.
Basic starts at $29.90 a month billed annually and includes every tool.
Watch out for
Free plan allows only 5 keyword lookups a day.
Rank updates are weekly on Basic and Premium, not daily.
AnswerThePublic turns autocomplete data from Google and Bing into visual maps of the questions, comparisons and phrases people type around a keyword. The free plan allows 3 searches a day with no sign-up, which is enough to plan a week of blog topics in a few minutes.
The catch is that the free plan shows questions only. Search volume, CPC data, saved reports and listening alerts all need a paid plan, and Starter at $20 a month adds them with 60 Composeo credits for AI-drafted outlines. Pair it with a keyword tool that shows volume if you need numbers.
What we like
Free plan gives 3 searches a day with no sign-up (Nov 2026).
Question maps show content angles that keyword lists miss.
Starter at $20 a month is the lowest paid start in this list.
Watch out for
Free plan shows no search volume or CPC data.
Free searches cannot be saved or exported as CSV.
Listening alerts and unlimited searches need Growth at $99 a month.
Ahrefs Free, formerly Ahrefs Webmaster Tools, gives site owners limited access to Site Explorer and Site Audit on domains they verify, plus Web Analytics, a social media manager and a browser toolbar. It shows your own top pages, keywords and backlinks, and runs more than 170 technical checks on your site.
The catch is the ownership rule. You cannot research competitors or any site you do not own, and Keywords Explorer and Rank Tracker are not part of the free account. Starter at $29 a month opens competitor research, but it meters use with a small monthly credit allowance.
What we like
Free for verified site owners, with no expiry date (Nov 2026).
Site Audit runs 170+ technical checks with 5,000 crawl credits a month per project.
Starter at $29 a month is the cheapest way to research competitors with Ahrefs data.
Watch out for
Free account works only on sites you verify, not on competitors.
Keywords Explorer and Rank Tracker are paid only.
Starter meters reports with a monthly credit allowance.
SimilarWeb is the best-known source of website traffic estimates, and it is the only tool in this list with no free plan for its platform. Free tools on its site, such as the Website Traffic Checker and a browser extension, give high-level traffic figures for any domain, and a 7-day trial opens the paid platform.
The catch is the price and the trial terms. Starter starts at $125 a month billed annually, or $199 monthly, and the 7-day trial needs a credit card and converts to a paid plan unless you cancel. It ranks last here because the free access is a sample, not a working plan.
What we like
Free tools give traffic estimates for any site with no sign-up (Nov 2026).
Traffic data covers channels, geography and audience overlap.
A 7-day trial gives full access to the paid platform before you commit.
Watch out for
No free plan for the platform, only free tools and a trial.
Starter starts at $125 a month billed annually, steep for a solo user.
The 7-day trial needs a credit card and auto-converts if you do not cancel.
Sources used: vendor pricing pages, vendor product pages and vendor help pages, checked Nov 2026.
Criterion
Weight
What we looked at
What the free tier actually allows
50%
We ranked by the free plan's real limits: daily searches, crawl caps, tracked keywords and whether it works on any site or only your own.
Breadth of free tools
30%
We favored tools whose free tier covers more than one SEO job, such as keywords plus audits, over single-purpose free tools.
Upgrade path
20%
We noted the paid starting price, so a free user can see what the next step costs before the free limits run out.
What are the best free SEO tools in 2026?
The best free SEO tools in 2026 are Screaming Frog, Ubersuggest and Semrush, because their free tiers do real work. Screaming Frog audits a site of up to 500 URLs, Ubersuggest covers keywords, tracking and audits for one site, and Semrush opens its full toolkit for 10 reports a day. AnswerThePublic is the best free pick for content ideas, while Ahrefs Free suits site owners who only need data on their own domain.
How much do the best free SEO tools cost when you upgrade?
Paid plans in this list start at $20 a month for AnswerThePublic Starter, $29 a month for Ahrefs Starter and Ubersuggest Individual, and $29.90 a month billed annually for Mangools Basic. Semrush Pro starts at $139.95 a month and SimilarWeb Starter at $125 a month billed annually, so the jump from free to paid is small on some tools and steep on others. Screaming Frog charges a flat £199 per licence per year.
Is there a free SEO tool that audits a whole site?
Yes, Screaming Frog is the free SEO tool that audits a whole site, as long as the site has 500 URLs or fewer. Its free version crawls up to 500 URLs per crawl with no time limit and checks broken links, redirects, titles, meta descriptions and canonicals. Larger sites need the £199 yearly licence, and Ubersuggest's free weekly audit of 150 pages is the closest free alternative.
Can I research competitors with free SEO software?
Yes, but only on some tools. Semrush's free account runs 10 reports a day on any domain, and Mangools' free plan allows 5 keyword lookups a day on any site. Ahrefs Free does not allow competitor research at all, since it only works on sites you verify, and SimilarWeb's free tools give only high-level traffic figures. For regular competitor work, Ahrefs Starter at $29 a month is the cheapest paid route.
How should I run a best free SEO tools comparison?
Run a best free SEO tools comparison at your real workload, not at the headline limits. Pick the jobs you do each week, such as keyword research, rank tracking or audits, then check each free plan's daily cap, crawl limit and whether it works on any site or only your own. Price the paid upgrade too, since a free plan that runs out in a day costs more in time than a $20 to $29 a month plan.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free SEO tool?
Screaming Frog is the best free SEO tool for most site owners because its free version crawls up to 500 URLs with no time limit and finds broken links, redirects, duplicate pages and missing metadata. Ubersuggest is the best free all-rounder for one site, covering keywords, rank tracking and audits. Pick AnswerThePublic if you only need content ideas.
Is Semrush free?
Yes, Semrush has a free account with no credit card required. It gives one demo project, 10 reports a day, 10 tracked keywords and a 100-page monthly audit across its keyword, audit and backlink tools. Paid plans start at $139.95 a month for Pro, so the free account suits learning and light checks rather than daily work.
Is Ahrefs free?
Ahrefs has a free account called Ahrefs Free for site owners who verify their domain. It gives limited Site Explorer and Site Audit access on your own sites, plus Web Analytics and a browser toolbar. It does not cover competitor research, Keywords Explorer or Rank Tracker. Paid plans start at $29 a month for Starter.
Does SimilarWeb have a free plan?
No, SimilarWeb has no free plan for its platform as of Nov 2026. It offers free tools, such as the Website Traffic Checker, that show high-level traffic data for any site, and a 7-day free trial of the paid platform that needs a credit card. Paid plans start at $125 a month billed annually for Starter.
What is the cheapest paid SEO tool in this list?
AnswerThePublic Starter is the cheapest paid entry in this list at $20 a month, or $13.33 a month billed annually. Ahrefs Starter and Ubersuggest Individual both start at $29 a month, and Mangools Basic starts at $29.90 a month billed annually. Semrush Pro at $139.95 a month is the priciest entry here.
How many free searches does Ubersuggest give per day?
Ubersuggest's free account gives 3 searches or reports a day, with 1 project, 25 tracked keywords and a weekly site audit of 150 pages. Individual at $29 a month lifts the limit to 150 searches a day with 125 tracked keywords and a 1,000-page weekly audit.
Is Screaming Frog really free?
Yes, Screaming Frog SEO Spider has a free version that crawls up to 500 URLs per crawl with no time limit and no sign-up. It covers core audit work such as broken links, redirects and metadata checks. The paid licence costs £199 per user per year and removes the crawl limit while adding saved crawls, JavaScript rendering and scheduling.
Final verdict
Pick Screaming Frog if you want a full technical audit of a site under 500 URLs for free.
Pick Ubersuggest if you own one site and want free keyword research, rank tracking and audits in one account.
Pick Semrush if you want the widest free sample of keyword, audit and backlink data on any domain.
Pick Mangools if you want simple keyword research with clear difficulty scores and 5 free lookups a day.
Pick AnswerThePublic if you want free question ideas for content and do not need search volume yet.
Pick Ahrefs if you own a site and want free backlink and audit data on your own domain.
Pick SimilarWeb if you want traffic estimates on competitors and are ready to pay from $125 a month.
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