Best Free SEO Tools 2026: 7 Options Compared
Best free SEO Tools compared: Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, Ahrefs, Screaming Frog SEO Spider and 3 more, with free-plan limits, platforms and prices from official pages checked October 24, 2026.
•3 min read•SEO Tools
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Search Console | Free (Free service; Google states no usage plans) | Web browser | Every site owner, as the first tool | Docs only |
| Bing Webmaster Tools | Free (Free: backlinks report for your own site and up to two competitors, Site Scan crawler, SEO reports) | Web browser | Covering Bing and sites you already verified in Google | Docs only |
| Ahrefs | Free (Ahrefs Free: unlimited verified sites, Site Audit 5K crawl credits per project per month, Site Explorer shows up to 1K backlinks and keywords); paid from $29 per month (Starter; Lite is $129 monthly) | Web browser | Technical audits plus a view of your links | Docs only |
| Screaming Frog SEO Spider | Free (Free version crawls up to 500 URLs); paid from $279 per user/year (paid licence) | Windows, macOS, Linux | Deep technical checks on small sites | Docs only |
| Seobility | Free (Basic plan: 5 checks per day); paid from $69.9 per month (Premium, 50 checks per day) | Web browser | Quick checks without installing software | Docs only |
| Lighthouse | Free (Free and open source; runs in Chrome DevTools or from the command line) | Chrome DevTools, CLI (Node.js) | Page-level speed and basic on-page checks | Docs only |
| Semrush | Free (1 demo project, 10 reports per day across tools); paid from $139 per month, billed monthly (SEO plan; $117.33 billed annually) | Web browser | Sampling a full suite before paying | Docs only |
Independent comparison. Paid placements are labelled separately; editorial links earn no affiliate commissions. Learn more.
Good fit if
- You own the site and want real search data (Google Search Console is the pick)
- You want a technical crawl of a small site (Screaming Frog SEO Spider is the pick)
- You need a free audit plus backlink sample (Ahrefs is the pick)
- You want to check page speed (Lighthouse is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You need paid-tier features, uptime guarantees or support that these free plans leave out
Free SEO tools are best used as a set, because none of them covers everything. Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools are the foundation: they show how the search engines see your own verified site, including queries, indexing problems and links. Ahrefs Free adds a site audit with 5,000 crawl credits per verified project each month and up to 1,000 backlinks and keywords in Site Explorer. Screaming Frog is a desktop crawler that is free up to 500 URLs, which covers most small sites. Seobility checks a site online with the Basic plan's five checks a day. Lighthouse, built into Chrome, scores a page on performance and SEO basics. Semrush's free account gives a demo project and ten reports a day across its tools, which is mostly a preview of what the paid plan sells at $139 a month. The limit to watch is that the strongest free data belongs to sites you can verify, while competitor data is capped hard. A sensible stack for a small site is Search Console for queries, Bing for a second view, Screaming Frog or Ahrefs for technical checks, and Lighthouse for page-level speed. Add a paid keyword or backlink index only when a clear question needs it.
Google Search Console
The primary source for how Google sees your site: queries, clicks, indexing and links, free for properties you verify. No competitor data.
Price: Free (Free service; Google states no usage plans) (Google Search Console pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web browser. Proprietary free service.
Best for: Every site owner, as the first tool.
Worth knowing: Covers your own verified sites only, not competitors.
Bing Webmaster Tools
Free, with backlinks, a Site Scan crawler and SEO reports for verified sites. Use it alongside Google Search Console for a second view of how your site is indexed.
Price: Free (Free: backlinks report for your own site and up to two competitors, Site Scan crawler, SEO reports) (Bing Webmaster Tools pricing, checked 2026-10-24).
Platforms and license: Web browser. Proprietary free service.
Best for: Covering Bing and sites you already verified in Google.
Ahrefs
Ahrefs Free gives unlimited verified sites, Site Audit with 5,000 crawl credits per project monthly, and up to 1,000 backlinks and keywords. Paid Starter is $29 a month.
Price: Free (Ahrefs Free: unlimited verified sites, Site Audit 5K crawl credits per project per month, Site Explorer shows up to 1K backlinks and keywords); paid from $29 per month (Starter; Lite is $129 monthly) (Ahrefs pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web browser. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: Technical audits plus a view of your links.
Compare: Ahrefs alternatives
Screaming Frog SEO Spider
Desktop crawler whose free version crawls up to 500 URLs; the paid licence is $279 per user per year.
Price: Free (Free version crawls up to 500 URLs); paid from $279 per user/year (paid licence) (Screaming Frog SEO Spider pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux. Proprietary desktop software.
Best for: Deep technical checks on small sites.
Compare: Screaming Frog SEO Spider alternatives
Seobility
Online site checker; the Basic plan allows 5 checks per day, and Premium with 50 checks a day is $69.90 a month.
Price: Free (Basic plan: 5 checks per day); paid from $69.9 per month (Premium, 50 checks per day) (Seobility pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web browser. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: Quick checks without installing software.
Worth knowing: Premium has a 14-day trial.
Lighthouse
Open-source Apache-2.0 auditor in Chrome DevTools and a CLI, with an seo category beside performance and accessibility. It scores single pages, not whole-site rankings.
Price: Free (Free and open source; runs in Chrome DevTools or from the command line) (Lighthouse pricing, checked 2026-10-24).
Platforms and license: Chrome DevTools, CLI (Node.js). Apache-2.0 (open source).
Project activity: 31k GitHub stars · latest release v13.6.0 (Oct 27, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Page-level speed and basic on-page checks.
Worth knowing: Has an seo category beside performance, accessibility and best practices. CLI needs Node 22 or later.
Semrush
Free account with one demo project and 10 reports a day across tools; paid SEO is $139 a month billed monthly. Best seen as a preview.
Price: Free (1 demo project, 10 reports per day across tools); paid from $139 per month, billed monthly (SEO plan; $117.33 billed annually) (Semrush pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web browser. Proprietary SaaS.
Best for: Sampling a full suite before paying.
Worth knowing: 7-day trial of paid plans.
Compare: Semrush alternatives
Which one to pick
- You own the site and want real search data: Google Search Console
- You want a technical crawl of a small site: Screaming Frog SEO Spider
- You need a free audit plus backlink sample: Ahrefs
- You want to check page speed: Lighthouse
Limits of this review
Docs-only for Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, Ahrefs, Screaming Frog SEO Spider, Seobility, Lighthouse, Semrush: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages. Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you commit.
Related guides
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Kevin Fan
Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.
Methodology
Based on official pricing, license and product pages checked between 2026-10-22 and 2026-10-24: Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, Ahrefs, Screaming Frog SEO Spider, Seobility, Lighthouse, Semrush. Prices, free limits and licenses are the figures shown on those pages on those dates. No tool on this page was installed or run. No accounts were created.