NERDY PICKS · SEO
Best SEO tools
Find keywords, optimize pages and get found on search engines.
Prices checked Oct 26, 2026
Which seo tool should I start with?
If you want free, start with Semrush, Ahrefs, Yoast SEO. Find keywords, optimize pages and get found on search engines. Below you'll find 23 tools with what each one does, the free plan and the cheapest solo plan in US dollars, checked Oct 26, 2026.
| Tool | What it does | Free plan | Paid from | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semrush | All-in-one SEO suite for keyword research, competitor checks, site audits and rank tracking. | Yes | SEO: US$139.95/month, or US$117.33/month on a yearly plan | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Ahrefs | SEO toolset known for backlink data, keyword research and site audits. | Yes | Starter: US$29/month | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Surfer | Helps you write and update articles so they match what ranks on Google. | Unclear | Discovery: US$59/month, or US$49/month on a yearly plan (US$588/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Moz Pro | Long-running SEO suite for keywords, rankings, links and site audits. | Unclear | Starter: US$49/month | Oct 26, 2026 |
| SE Ranking | SEO platform for rank tracking, audits and competitor research at a lower price than the big suites. | No | Core: US$129/month, or US$103.20/month on a yearly plan | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Frase | Researches top results and helps you brief, write and optimize SEO content. | Unclear | Starter: US$49/month, or US$39/month on a yearly plan (US$468/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Clearscope | Grades your content against top-ranking pages and suggests terms to cover. | Unclear | Essentials: US$129/month | Oct 26, 2026 |
| NEURONwriter | Budget content optimization tool that scores your draft against top results. | Unclear | Bronze: US$23/month, or US$19/month on a yearly plan (US$228/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Yoast SEO | WordPress plugin that checks your pages for SEO basics and handles technical settings. | Yes | Yoast SEO Premium: US$9.90/month | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Rank Math | WordPress SEO plugin with on-page checks, schema and built-in keyword tracking. | Yes | PRO: US$8.99/month | Oct 26, 2026 |
| SEOwriting.ai | Writes SEO blog posts in bulk and can publish them to WordPress. | Unclear | Starter: US$19/month, or US$14/month on a yearly plan (US$168/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| SEOptimer | Runs quick SEO audits and makes branded reports, popular with small agencies. | No | Starter: US$29/month, or US$21.75/month on a yearly plan (US$261/year) | Oct 25, 2026 |
| Keywords Everywhere | Browser add-on that shows search volume and keyword ideas right on Google and other sites. | No | Bronze: US$7/month | Oct 26, 2026 |
| AlsoAsked | Shows the questions people ask around a topic, pulled from Google's 'People also ask' boxes. | Yes | Basic: US$15/month, or US$12/month on a yearly plan (US$144/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| SpyFu | Look up the keywords and ads competitors rank and pay for on Google. | No | Basic: US$39/month, or US$29/month on a yearly plan (US$348/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Screaming Frog SEO Spider | Desktop crawler that scans a website for broken links, missing titles and other technical SEO issues. | Yes | Licence: US$23.25/month | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Mangools | Beginner-friendly bundle of SEO tools: KWFinder keyword research, rank tracking and site checks. | Unclear | Mangools Basic: US$30.50/month, or US$18.85/month on a yearly plan (US$226.20/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| AnswerThePublic | Turns a topic into a map of the questions and phrases people search for. | Yes | Starter: US$20/month, or US$10/month on a yearly plan (US$120/year) (promo) | Nov 1, 2026 |
| WriterZen | Keyword and topic research with clustering and a content writing workspace. | Unclear | All-In-One Basic: US$270 one-time | Oct 28, 2026 |
| Scalenut | Tracks how a brand shows up in AI answers and Google, with content planning and optimization tools. | No | Starter: US$59/month, or US$21/month on a yearly plan (US$252/year) (promo) | Nov 1, 2026 |
| Jasper | AI writing platform for marketing teams that keeps content on-brand. | No | Pro: US$69/month, or US$59/month on a yearly plan (US$708/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Writesonic | AI writing and SEO platform for blog content and tracking visibility in AI search. | Unclear | Starter: US$99/month, or US$79/month on a yearly plan (US$948/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
| WordAi | Rewrites articles in bulk so they read as new, unique content. | No | WordAi: US$57/month, or US$27/month on a yearly plan (US$324/year) | Oct 26, 2026 |
All 23 tools
Semrush
All-in-one SEO suite for keyword research, competitor checks, site audits and rank tracking.
Free plan: Yes: Free tier with limited daily searches; 7-day trial of paid plans.
Paid from: SEO: US$139.95/month, or US$117.33/month on a yearly plan
Discounts: Cheaper per month with annual billing.
Cheaper or similar: SE Ranking, SEOptimer
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Ahrefs
SEO toolset known for backlink data, keyword research and site audits.
Free plan: Yes: Ahrefs Free (limited tools for site owners).
Paid from: Starter: US$29/month
Discounts: Annual billing on Lite and higher saves up to 17%.
Cheaper or similar: SE Ranking, SEOptimer
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Surfer
Helps you write and update articles so they match what ranks on Google.
Free plan: Unclear: Free plan or trial not confirmed.
Paid from: Discovery: US$59/month, or US$49/month on a yearly plan (US$588/year)
Discounts: Save with yearly billing.
Cheaper or similar: Frase, NEURONwriter
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Moz Pro
Long-running SEO suite for keywords, rankings, links and site audits.
Free plan: Unclear: Free plan or trial not confirmed.
Paid from: Starter: US$49/month
Discounts: Cheaper with yearly billing on higher plans.
Cheaper or similar: SE Ranking, SEOptimer
Some details on this one weren't confirmed on the official pricing page, so we left them blank.
Checked Oct 26, 2026
SE Ranking
SEO platform for rank tracking, audits and competitor research at a lower price than the big suites.
Free plan: No
Paid from: Core: US$129/month, or US$103.20/month on a yearly plan
Discounts: Save with annual billing.
Cheaper or similar: SEOptimer, Moz Pro
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Frase
Researches top results and helps you brief, write and optimize SEO content.
Free plan: Unclear: Free plan or trial not confirmed.
Paid from: Starter: US$49/month, or US$39/month on a yearly plan (US$468/year)
Discounts: Save with yearly billing.
Cheaper or similar: NEURONwriter, Surfer
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Clearscope
Grades your content against top-ranking pages and suggests terms to cover.
Free plan: Unclear: Free plan or trial not confirmed.
Paid from: Essentials: US$129/month
Cheaper or similar: Frase, NEURONwriter
Checked Oct 26, 2026
NEURONwriter
Budget content optimization tool that scores your draft against top results.
Free plan: Unclear: Free plan or trial not confirmed.
Paid from: Bronze: US$23/month, or US$19/month on a yearly plan (US$228/year)
Cheaper or similar: Frase, Surfer
Some details on this one weren't confirmed on the official pricing page, so we left them blank.
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Yoast SEO
WordPress plugin that checks your pages for SEO basics and handles technical settings.
Free plan: Yes: Free WordPress plugin.
Paid from: Yoast SEO Premium: US$9.90/month
Cheaper or similar: Rank Math
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Rank Math
WordPress SEO plugin with on-page checks, schema and built-in keyword tracking.
Free plan: Yes: Free WordPress plugin.
Paid from: PRO: US$8.99/month
Discounts: First-year promo: PRO US$7.99/month billed annually (US$95.88 for the first year), then renews at US$8.99/month (US$107.88/year). No end date shown.
Cheaper or similar: Yoast SEO
Some details on this one weren't confirmed on the official pricing page, so we left them blank.
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Writes SEO blog posts in bulk and can publish them to WordPress.
Free plan: Unclear: Free plan or trial not confirmed.
Paid from: Starter: US$19/month, or US$14/month on a yearly plan (US$168/year)
Discounts: Cheaper with yearly billing.
Cheaper or similar: Frase, NEURONwriter
Checked Oct 26, 2026
SEOptimer
Runs quick SEO audits and makes branded reports, popular with small agencies.
Free plan: No
Paid from: Starter: US$29/month, or US$21.75/month on a yearly plan (US$261/year)
Discounts: Cheaper with annual billing.
Cheaper or similar: SE Ranking
Checked Oct 25, 2026
Browser add-on that shows search volume and keyword ideas right on Google and other sites.
Free plan: No
Paid from: Bronze: US$7/month
Cheaper or similar: AlsoAsked, AnswerThePublic
Checked Oct 26, 2026
AlsoAsked
Shows the questions people ask around a topic, pulled from Google's 'People also ask' boxes.
Free plan: Yes: Some free monthly searches without registering.
Paid from: Basic: US$15/month, or US$12/month on a yearly plan (US$144/year)
Discounts: Yearly saves 20%.
Cheaper or similar: AnswerThePublic, Keywords Everywhere
Some details on this one weren't confirmed on the official pricing page, so we left them blank.
Checked Oct 26, 2026
SpyFu
Look up the keywords and ads competitors rank and pay for on Google.
Free plan: No
Paid from: Basic: US$39/month, or US$29/month on a yearly plan (US$348/year)
Discounts: Annual: 'Get 3 months free! (25% savings)'.
Cheaper or similar: Semrush, SE Ranking
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Desktop crawler that scans a website for broken links, missing titles and other technical SEO issues.
Free plan: Yes: Free version crawls up to 500 URLs.
Paid from: Licence: US$23.25/month
Cheaper or similar: SEOptimer, SE Ranking
Some details on this one weren't confirmed on the official pricing page, so we left them blank.
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Mangools
Beginner-friendly bundle of SEO tools: KWFinder keyword research, rank tracking and site checks.
Free plan: Unclear: Free SEO tools linked; free plan limits not shown in what we read.
Paid from: Mangools Basic: US$30.50/month, or US$18.85/month on a yearly plan (US$226.20/year)
Discounts: Annual billing saves about 35%.
Cheaper or similar: SE Ranking, Keywords Everywhere
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Turns a topic into a map of the questions and phrases people search for.
Free plan: Yes: 'Get started for free'; limits not shown in what we read.
Paid from: Starter: US$20/month, or US$10/month on a yearly plan (US$120/year) (promo)
Discounts: Special limited-time offer: 6 free months on annual plans (Starter US$120/year vs US$20 a month billed monthly); no end date stated.
Cheaper or similar: AlsoAsked, Keywords Everywhere
Checked Nov 1, 2026
WriterZen
Keyword and topic research with clustering and a content writing workspace.
Free plan: Unclear: Not stated in what we read.
Paid from: All-In-One Basic: US$270 one-time
Discounts: One-time lifetime deals were shown on Oct 25, 2026.
Cheaper or similar: NEURONwriter, Frase
Some details on this one weren't confirmed on the official pricing page, so we left them blank.
Checked Oct 28, 2026
Scalenut
Tracks how a brand shows up in AI answers and Google, with content planning and optimization tools.
Free plan: No
Paid from: Starter: US$59/month, or US$21/month on a yearly plan (US$252/year) (promo)
Discounts: Black Friday Early Access deal: 65% off every annual plan plus 3x limits on the AI Article Writer, Keyword Planner and Content Optimizer (limited-time, no end date stated).
Cheaper or similar: Surfer, NEURONwriter
Some details on this one weren't confirmed on the official pricing page, so we left them blank.
Checked Nov 1, 2026
Jasper
AI writing platform for marketing teams that keeps content on-brand.
Free plan: No
Paid from: Pro: US$69/month, or US$59/month on a yearly plan (US$708/year)
Discounts: Cheaper with yearly billing; 20% nonprofit discount.
Cheaper or similar: Rytr, Copy.ai, QuillBot, Grammarly · cheaper Jasper alternatives
Checked Oct 26, 2026
Writesonic
AI writing and SEO platform for blog content and tracking visibility in AI search.
Free plan: Unclear: No free plan listed on the pricing page.
Paid from: Starter: US$99/month, or US$79/month on a yearly plan (US$948/year)
Discounts: Cheaper with annual billing.
Cheaper or similar: Rytr, Jasper
Some details on this one weren't confirmed on the official pricing page, so we left them blank.
Checked Oct 26, 2026
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FAQ
What's the best free seo tool?
7 of the 23 seo tools here have a free plan, including Semrush, Ahrefs, Yoast SEO, Rank Math. Start with the one whose job description matches yours, and check the free-plan limits in each card before you commit.
What's the cheapest paid seo tool?
Of the prices we could confirm, Keywords Everywhere is cheapest: its Bronze plan is US$7/month. Next is Rank Math: its PRO plan is US$8.99/month. Prices are in US dollars before tax, checked Oct 26, 2026.
How do you check these prices?
We read each tool's official pricing page (or the maker's own help pages) in US dollars before tax, and note the date. If a price isn't shown clearly, we leave it blank rather than guess.
Want to spend less? Tick the tools you pay for in the Nerdy Savings calculator.