This guide to the best SEO tools covers five: Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, PageSpeed Insights, Screaming Frog SEO Spider and Ahrefs. We read each tool's official page. Every section below covers what the tool does, who it suits, what that page says it costs and what it leaves out.
The best SEO tools to start with are Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, both free to start. PageSpeed Insights checks one URL's speed and user experience. Screaming Frog SEO Spider audits a site, and its free version crawls up to 500 URLs. Ahrefs is the paid suite here, with its Lite plan at $129 a month.
The best SEO tools compared
| Tool | What it is | Best for | Price, as the official page states it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Search Console | Google's free service for monitoring your site in Google Search | Business owners, SEO specialists, site admins and web developers | Free |
| Bing Webmaster Tools | Bing's SEO/GEO tools and reports for your site | Sites that want Bing's own reports and URL submission | Free SEO/GEO tools, per the page |
| PageSpeed Insights | Google's page speed tool, with lab and real-user data | Checking the speed and Core Web Vitals of individual URLs | No price stated |
| Screaming Frog SEO Spider | A website crawler for Windows, macOS and Linux | Finding broken links, redirects, titles and meta descriptions | Free for up to 500 URLs per crawl; $279 a year per licence on the pricing page; £199 on the home page |
| Ahrefs | A paid SEO suite with tiered plans | Small businesses, freelance SEOs and in-house teams, by plan | Lite $129/mo, Standard $249/mo, Advanced $449/mo, Enterprise $1,499/mo; Ahrefs Free with limited access for website owners |
Google Search Console
Google Search Console is Google's free service for monitoring your site's presence in Google Search. It confirms that Google can find and crawl your site. It helps you fix indexing problems and request re-indexing. It shows how often your site appears in Google Search, which queries show it, and how often searchers click through. It also sends alerts about indexing and spam issues, and it lists the sites that link to yours.
Google's page says business owners, SEO specialists, site administrators and web developers should use it. The tool runs in a browser, and you need a Google account with cookies and JavaScript turned on.
Its traffic data covers Google Search only, so it says nothing about Bing. Google's About Search Console page has the full list of tools and requirements.
Bing Webmaster Tools
Bing Webmaster Tools is Bing's set of SEO/GEO tools for your site, and its about page calls them free. Backlinks analyses referring pages, domains and anchor texts. Keyword research shows the phrases searchers use and their search volumes. The SEO/GEO Report counts errors across a scanned site. Site Scan is an on-demand audit that crawls for common technical issues. A URL Submission API lets a site notify Bing when content changes, and a WordPress plugin automates URL submission for WordPress sites.
It suits sites that want Bing's own reports, and WordPress sites that want URLs submitted to Bing automatically.
The page asks visitors to sign up to see more insights, so some data sits behind a sign-up. It describes a free start and does not describe a paid tier. The Bing Webmaster Tools about page lists each tool.
PageSpeed Insights
PageSpeed Insights reports how a page performs on mobile and desktop, and suggests how to improve it. It uses two kinds of data. Field data comes from the Chrome User Experience Report. It shows what real users saw over the previous 28 days for First Contentful Paint, Interaction to Next Paint, Largest Contentful Paint and Cumulative Layout Shift, with Time to First Byte as an experimental metric. Lab data comes from Lighthouse, which simulates a page load and scores Performance, Accessibility, Best Practices and SEO. A lab score of 90 or above counts as good.
It suits people checking the speed and Core Web Vitals of individual pages, and developers who want Lighthouse diagnostics.
It analyses the URL you give it. A recently published page may not have enough real-user samples. In that case PageSpeed Insights falls back to origin-level data, which covers every page on the site. Speed Index and Total Blocking Time appear only in the lab data. Lab scores also vary from run to run, because network and hardware conditions change. The About page does not state a price, and it was last updated on 21 October 2024. The PageSpeed Insights About page explains both kinds of data.
Screaming Frog SEO Spider
Screaming Frog SEO Spider is a website crawler for Windows, macOS and Linux. Screaming Frog says it identifies over 300 SEO issues. The crawler finds broken links and server errors, identifies redirect chains and loops, and flags missing, short, long or duplicate page titles and meta descriptions. It also reviews robots and canonical directives, generates XML sitemaps, and exports page data such as URLs, titles, meta descriptions and headings to a spreadsheet.
It suits people who audit a site themselves and want page data in a spreadsheet to base recommendations on.
The free version crawls up to 500 URLs in a single crawl. It also restricts crawl configuration, saving crawls, JavaScript rendering, custom extraction and API integrations. A paid licence removes the 500 URL limit. Licences last one year and are per user. The pricing page lists $279 a year per licence for one to four licences, falling to $235 for 20 or more. The home page quotes £199 a year, so the two official pages disagree on price. Screaming Frog SEO Spider lists the features in full.
Ahrefs
Ahrefs is a paid SEO suite. Its pricing page names Site Explorer, Keywords Explorer, Site Audit, Rank Tracker and Competitive Analysis, along with API and MCP access. The main plans are Lite at $129 a month, Standard at $249, Advanced at $449 and Enterprise at $1,499, which requires an annual commitment. Paying annually saves up to 17%.
Lite suits small businesses and personal projects. Standard suits freelance SEOs and marketing consultants. Advanced suits lean in-house marketing teams. The page describes each plan that way.
Lite includes 5 projects, 750 tracked keywords, 6 months of historical data and one user. It allows up to two more users at $40 a month each. Standard and above give unlimited credits per user, where Lite gives 1,000. Once you enable pay-as-you-go credits, you are charged automatically when your use goes past your plan's limits. Ahrefs does not issue refunds in general, though a monthly subscriber can ask for one if they have not used the service. The pricing page also lists a Starter at $29 a month, which it describes as a way to see what people search for and spy on competitors. Website owners can sign up for Ahrefs Free, which gives limited access to Site Explorer and Site Audit. Ahrefs pricing has the full comparison.
How to choose
Pick from this list by budget and site size. Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools show how Google and Bing see your site, so set them up first.
- No budget: Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools both start free. PageSpeed Insights checks individual pages, and its About page does not state a price.
- Up to 500 URLs: Screaming Frog's free version crawls a site that size in a single crawl.
- Larger sites or a team: Each user needs a licence, and bulk pricing on the pricing page falls to $235 per licence for 20 or more.
- Paid keyword and rank data: Ahrefs, with Lite for small businesses and personal projects.
What's new (as of 5 October 2026)
Bing Webmaster Tools now describes its tools as SEO/GEO tools on its about page. If AI answers matter to your plan, read this post on what Google AI Mode is and how to get cited.
Ahrefs' pricing page lists Lite at $129 a month, Standard at $249 and Advanced at $449, and says paying annually saves up to 17%. Lite includes 5 projects, 750 tracked keywords, 5 tracked AI prompts, 100,000 crawl credits, and API and MCP access. Ahrefs' pricing page has the plan details.
Once your stack is running, the next thing to read is 15 SEO tips from Google's own documentation.
Key takeaways
- Google Search Console is free, and it shows how often your site appears in Google Search and which queries show it.
- PageSpeed Insights reports real-user data from the previous 28 days when a page has enough samples.
- Screaming Frog SEO Spider's free version crawls up to 500 URLs, and a paid licence removes that limit.
- Ahrefs Lite costs $129 a month and includes one user, 5 projects and 750 tracked keywords.
- Ahrefs does not issue refunds in general, though monthly subscribers can request one if they have not used the service.
FAQ
Is Google Search Console free?
Yes. Google describes it as a free service that helps you monitor and troubleshoot your site's presence in Google Search results. You do not need to sign up for it to be included in those results.
How much does Screaming Frog SEO Spider cost?
The free version crawls up to 500 URLs in a single crawl. A paid licence removes that limit and is listed at $279 a year per licence on the pricing page, but the home page quotes £199 a year, so check the price on the official site before you buy.
Can I use Ahrefs for free?
Only in a limited form. Website owners can sign up for Ahrefs Free, which gives limited access to Site Explorer and Site Audit. The paid Lite plan costs $129 a month on the pricing page.
Does PageSpeed Insights show data for a new page?
Not always. Real-user data appears only when a page has enough samples in the Chrome User Experience Report, and a recently published page may not have them. In that case PageSpeed Insights falls back to origin-level data for the whole site, and if the site lacks enough samples too, it shows no real-user data.
Is Bing Webmaster Tools free?
Its SEO/GEO tools are free, according to its about page, which says you can get started for free. More insights require a sign-up, because the page asks visitors to sign up to see them.