The best cheap SEO tools are free. Google Search Console, Keyword Planner, Bing Webmaster Tools and Screaming Frog's free crawler cover most jobs for one site. Paid tools under $50 a month add what free tools cannot: competitor data and keyword tracking. Prices checked 1 November 2026.
Every cheap plan saves money by capping something: credits, lookups, tracked keywords, websites or seats. This guide prices each tool on its official page, names the cap, and ends with three stacks you can copy. For what the big suites cost above this range, see our Semrush pricing breakdown.
Key takeaways
- $0 covers your own site. Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, Keyword Planner and Screaming Frog's 500-URL crawl handle queries, indexing, keyword ideas and audits.
- Free tools stop at competitors. Full competitor keyword lists, backlink gaps and tracking for keywords you do not rank for yet are where you start paying.
- Nine paid options cost $50 a month or less, from Keywords Everywhere at $7 a month (billed $84 a year) to Majestic Lite at $49.99.
- Read the cap before the price. Keysearch Starter allows 200 searches a day, Ahrefs Starter 200 credits a month, and Moz's $49 plan one website.
- One paid tool is usually enough. Pick it by the job you do every week, and keep the free stack underneath.
Video: five free SEO tools worth setting up first
Kasra Dash's 12-minute walkthrough is worth watching because he uses the free tools on real searches instead of only listing them.
Three things worth taking from it:
- Keyword Planner doubles as a free competitor keyword tool. Choose to start with a website, paste a competitor's ranking URL, and you get the keywords Google associates with it. He notes it may ask for card details without charging you, and that it mostly returns bottom-funnel terms rather than guide or long-tail ideas.
- Search Console hides long-tail questions behind a regex filter. A custom regex in the Performance report surfaces question queries you already get impressions for but have no page for.
- A free Chrome extension handles on-page research. He uses Detailed SEO to read any page's heading structure and to export People Also Ask questions to a spreadsheet.
Where we differ: the video covers research and content, and skips rank tracking and backlinks, the two jobs free tools handle worst. That is exactly where the paid section below starts.
Which SEO jobs do free tools cover?
Free tools cover most of what a small site needs: your own queries, indexing, keyword ideas, audits and the links pointing at you. They stop at competitors and at tracking a keyword list you choose.
| Job | Free tool | What it does well | Where it stops |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your queries, clicks and positions | Google Search Console | Real Google data for your own site | Only queries where you already appear |
| Indexing and sitemaps | Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools | URL inspection, sitemap submission | Sites you have verified |
| Keyword ideas and volume | Keyword Planner, our keyword volume checker | Volume estimates; our checker takes up to 10 keywords, five checks a day, no account | Planner needs a Google Ads account with billing details |
| Technical audit | Screaming Frog free, Bing Site Scan, Ahrefs Free | Crawls up to 500 URLs; Ahrefs Free gives 5K crawl credits a month per project | Larger sites and scheduled crawls |
| Backlinks | Search Console links report, Bing backlinks, Ahrefs Free | Who links to you; Bing lists backlinks for any site | Depth and history on competitors |
| Competitor keywords | Our competitor keyword finder, Keyword Planner by URL | Top 20 keywords of any domain, three lookups a day | Everything past the top 20 |
| Tracking a chosen keyword list | None that is good | Average position in Search Console | Keywords you do not rank for yet |
Set up Search Console first. Google describes it as a free service (Search Console Help), and it is the only place you see the real queries that bring people to your site.
Bing Webmaster Tools adds what Search Console lacks: keyword research, an on-demand Site Scan audit and a backlink report that works for any site, all listed in Bing's announcement of the current version. Bing does not sell a paid tier.
Keyword Planner lives inside Google Ads. Google's help page says you need to add billing information to reach basic features such as keyword ideas (Google Ads Help). As the video above shows, you do not have to pay for ads to use it.
Our free tools cover the files and checks most sites need: sitemap, robots.txt, schema and llms.txt tools, plus a website traffic checker. The traffic checker and the two keyword tools above need no account.
Cheap SEO tools under $50 a month, compared
On 1 November 2026, nine paid SEO tools had an entry plan at $50 a month or less. Each one gets that price by capping something, and the cap matters more than the price.
| Tool | Entry price, checked 1 Nov 2026 | What you get | The cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keywords Everywhere | Bronze $7 a month, billed $84 a year | Volume and keyword data in your browser | 100,000 credits a year; annual billing only |
| Keysearch | Starter $24 a month | Keyword research, SERP and competitor analysis, rank tracking, audits | 200 searches a day, 80 tracked keywords |
| Ubersuggest | From US$29 a month | Keyword, audit and rank reports | 150 reports a day, 1 project, 125 tracked keywords |
| Ahrefs Starter | $29 a month | Site Explorer, Keywords Explorer, Site Audit, Rank Tracker | 200 credits a month, monthly only, no add-ons |
| Mangools | From $37.70 a month | Keyword research, SERP checks, rank tracking, link tools | Per-plan limits not shown to us |
| Pengu Insights Starter (ours) | $39 a month | Competitor keywords, traffic, social competitors | 1,200 credits a month, 50 results per search |
| Moz Pro | $49 a month | Moz's SEO tools for one site | One website; plan limits not listed |
| Majestic Lite | $49.99 a month | Backlink index | Fresh Index only, one user, links only |
| Screaming Frog licence | £199 a year | Unlimited technical crawl | Desktop app; crawl size depends on your machine |
Keywords Everywhere: volume on every search page
Keywords Everywhere Bronze is $7 a month, billed as $84 a year, for 100,000 credits a year, where one credit is one keyword (checked 1 November 2026). Silver is $14 a month with 3 seats, and Gold $40, both billed annually.
Pros: the cheapest way to see volume next to every Google search; seats from Silver up. Cons: annual billing only; credits expire after a year; no tracking or audits. Best for: writers who want keyword data on the screen they already use.
Keysearch: the cheapest suite with a rank tracker
Keysearch Starter is $24 a month and Pro $48, with two months free on annual billing and a 7-day free trial (checked 1 November 2026). Starter allows 200 keyword searches a day, 80 tracked keywords and 2,000 audited pages a month. Pro raises those to 500, 200 and 5,000.
Pros: research, rank tracking and audits in one login under $25; competitor and backlink analysis on both plans. Cons: 80 tracked keywords on Starter; the page lists no limits for competitor and backlink analysis, so test them in the trial. Best for: bloggers and affiliate sites that need research and a small rank tracker together.
Ubersuggest: a simple all-rounder for one site
Ubersuggest shows a range of US$29 to US$99 a month on its pricing page, without per-plan figures in the version we fetched on 1 November 2026. The entry tier allows 150 reports a day, 1 project and 125 tracked keywords per project, and monthly plans come with a one-time 7-day free trial.
Pros: beginner-friendly reports; extra users at $5 a month each. Cons: one project on the entry tier; exact plan prices not shown on the page we read. Best for: small business owners checking one site a few times a week.
Ahrefs Starter: Ahrefs data for occasional checks
Ahrefs Starter is $29 a month with 200 credits and includes Site Explorer, Keywords Explorer, Site Audit and Rank Tracker. Site Audit and Rank Tracker have their own limits and do not use credits. It renews monthly only, and you cannot add users or credits.
Pros: the lowest price Ahrefs sells; Keywords Explorer and Rank Tracker, which Ahrefs Free lacks. Cons: 200 credits go quickly; no extra users or add-ons; no downgrade to it from Lite or higher. Best for: beginners who want Ahrefs data for a few checks a month.
If you are already on Ahrefs Lite and want out, our Ahrefs alternatives guide sorts the options by the job you are replacing.
Mangools: friendly keyword research
Mangools bundles keyword research, SERP checks, rank tracking and link tools, and its own comparison page lists it from $37.70 a month (checked 1 November 2026). Its plans page did not render plan prices or limits for us, so confirm the tier before you pay.
Pros: the easiest keyword interface in this price range; a full suite under $40. Cons: per-plan limits not visible to us; the comparison page says its rank tracker runs daily on the Agency plan, so check the frequency on cheaper tiers. Best for: solo content writers who mostly need keyword ideas.
Pengu Insights Starter: competitors across search and social
Pengu Insights is ours, so weigh the recommendation. Starter is $39 a month plus VAT, with 1,200 credits and up to 50 results per search. It covers core SEO (keywords, competitors, traffic) plus Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn and Meta Ad Library research and a social benchmark by engagement rate. The full plan list is on our pricing page.
Pros: competitor SEO and social research on one bill; a free plan with 80 credits at sign-up to test first. Cons: no rank tracker or site crawler; keyword gap, backlink gap and AI visibility start on Pro at $69; sold to professionals and companies only. Best for: freelancers and small agencies who research competitors on search and social.
Moz Pro: links and audits for one site
Moz Pro's entry plan is $49 a month, which Moz says is designed for individuals managing a single website (checked 1 November 2026). The page does not list that plan's limits. The next plan is $99, or $79 billed yearly, with 3 tracked sites and 300 tracked keywords.
Pros: Moz's link data and site crawl from $49; a free Moz Community account for limited Keyword Explorer and Link Explorer use. Cons: one website; the $49 plan's limits are not published on the pricing page; the $99 plan includes only 150 keyword queries a month. Best for: a single-site business that cares most about links and audits.
Majestic Lite: backlinks only
Majestic Lite is $49.99 a month, or $41.67 a month billed yearly, checked 1 November 2026 after switching the page to dollars. It gives one user the Fresh Index and 5,000 Site Explorer rows. The Historic Index starts on Pro at $99.99.
Pros: a dedicated link index at the top of this price range. Cons: links only; no historic data on Lite. Best for: link builders who need backlink checks and nothing else.
Screaming Frog: the audit licence
Screaming Frog is free up to 500 URLs, and a licence that removes the limit is £199 a year per user, checked 1 November 2026. Five or more licences cost less each.
Pros: the deepest technical crawl you can buy at this price; the free tier covers most small sites. Cons: a desktop app you run yourself; no keyword or backlink database of its own. Best for: sites past 500 URLs that need proper technical audits.
What do you give up at each price?
At $0 you give up competitor data. Under $25 you give up scale. Between $25 and $50 you trade depth in one area for gaps in the others. The step after that is a full suite, and on 1 November 2026 the entry points we saw were $99 for Moz Pro's three-site plan and $129 for both Ahrefs Lite and SE Ranking Core.
- $0: your own site in detail, competitors barely. The free finder shows 20 keywords per domain, Keyword Planner shows Google's associations, and Bing's backlink report covers any site without depth.
- $7 to $24: Keywords Everywhere and Keysearch Starter. You keep research and lose volume: 200 searches a day and 80 tracked keywords on Keysearch Starter.
- $29 to $50: Ahrefs Starter, Ubersuggest, Mangools, Pengu Insights Starter, Moz Pro and Majestic Lite. Each goes deep in one area (Ahrefs data, links, or competitor research across search and social) and stays shallow in the rest.
- $99 and up: one login covers keywords, links, audits and tracking for several sites. That is where the suites start.
The SEO stack for $0, $50 and $100 a month
Build from the free layer up. The $50 and $100 stacks keep every free tool and add one or two paid ones for the jobs free tools cannot do.
The $0 stack
Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, Keyword Planner, Screaming Frog's free tier, Ahrefs Free for your verified site, and the Pengu Insights free plan with 80 credits at sign-up. Set it up in about 90 minutes:
- Verify your site in Search Console and submit the sitemap (20 minutes).
- Add the site to Bing Webmaster Tools (10 minutes). Bing lets you import a site you have already verified in Search Console.
- Verify the site in Ahrefs Free for its audit and link reports (15 minutes).
- Crawl up to 500 URLs with Screaming Frog and fix broken links and missing titles first (30 minutes).
- Run your three main competitors through the competitor keyword finder and note the terms you do not cover (15 minutes).
The $50 stack: $46 a month
Pengu Insights Starter at $39 (ours) for competitor keywords, traffic estimates and social research, plus Keywords Everywhere Bronze at $7 a month, billed $84 a year, for volume on every search. It has no rank tracker, so lean on Search Console's average position.
If rank tracking is the job, Keysearch Pro at $48 gives 200 tracked keywords and 500 searches a day on its own. If you want Ahrefs data, Ahrefs Starter at $29 plus Keywords Everywhere comes to $36.
The $100 stack: $100 a month
Pengu Insights Pro at $69 (ours) for keyword gap, backlink gap, AI visibility in Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT, and content briefs. Add Keysearch Starter at $24 for 80 tracked keywords and Keywords Everywhere Bronze at $7. Total: $100 a month.
The single-login alternative is Moz Pro at $99, or $79 billed yearly, with 3 sites, 300 tracked keywords and strong link data, but only 150 keyword queries a month. Past $100, compare the full suites in our Semrush pricing guide before you pick one.
How we checked the prices
We fetched each vendor's official pricing page on 1 November 2026 and recorded the entry price, the billing terms and the cap that limits daily use. Where a page did not render a price, or showed it in another currency, we say so instead of converting. Mangools' plans page showed no plan prices to us, Ubersuggest's showed only a range, and Screaming Frog sells in pounds.
A tool made the list when its entry plan cost $50 a month or less. SpyFu's pricing page refused our request on the day, so it is not in the table. We did not benchmark data accuracy for this guide. Pengu Insights is our product, and we list its caps the same way as everyone else's.
Common mistakes with cheap SEO tools
- Buying group-buy access. Shared logins resold by third parties break vendor terms and can be cut off without notice. SE Ranking, for one, allows only one active session per login, per its pricing FAQ.
- Paying for what Search Console gives you free. Your own clicks, impressions and positions are more accurate in Search Console than in any paid estimate.
- Comparing prices without comparing caps. 200 credits a month on Ahrefs Starter and 200 searches a day on Keysearch Starter are very different allowances.
- Missing annual-only billing. Keywords Everywhere bills yearly only, so the $7 plan is $84 paid upfront.
- Stacking tools that do the same job. Two keyword tools rarely beat one keyword tool plus a rank tracker. Fill gaps, do not duplicate.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest SEO tool?
The cheapest useful SEO tools are free: Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, Keyword Planner and the free tier of Screaming Frog, which crawls up to 500 URLs. The cheapest paid tool we priced is Keywords Everywhere Bronze at $7 a month, billed as $84 a year.
Can you do SEO with only free tools?
For your own site, yes. Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, Keyword Planner and Screaming Frog cover queries, indexing, keyword ideas and technical audits. What free tools do not give you is a full list of competitor keywords, deep backlink data on rivals, or tracking for keywords you do not rank for yet.
Is Ubersuggest worth it?
For one small site, it can be. Its pricing page shows a range of US$29 to US$99 a month, and the entry tier allows 150 reports a day, one project and 125 tracked keywords per project. If you track more keywords or several sites, Keysearch Pro or a full suite fits better.
Is there a cheap alternative to Semrush?
Yes, if you only need part of it. Keysearch at $24 a month covers keyword research and a small rank tracker, Ahrefs Starter at $29 gives limited Ahrefs data, and Moz Pro starts at $49 for one website. None matches Semrush's depth, so match the tool to the job you used Semrush for.
How much should a small business spend on SEO tools?
Start at $0 and pay only when a free tool blocks a job you do every week. For most single-site businesses that means one paid tool between $24 and $50 a month. Spending $100 or more makes sense once you manage several sites or report competitor data to clients.
What to do next
In short: set up the $0 stack this week, then pay for one tool only when a free one blocks a job you do every week. Most sites never need more than one paid login.
Start with your competitors. Run three rival domains through the competitor keyword finder, then check their best terms in the keyword volume checker.
When 20 keywords per competitor is not enough, start free in Pengu Insights with 80 credits at sign-up, and move to a paid plan only when the free one runs out.
Written by
Founder of Pengu Insights. Competitive intelligence practitioner for DTC brands and marketing agencies.
