Screaming Frog SEO Spider: pricing, free plan and alternatives
A desktop crawler that finds broken links, redirects, missing titles and duplicate pages across a site.
Prices checked on the official pricing pages on . Prices are in US dollars and can change at any time.
Screaming Frog SEO Spider and its alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Free plan | Paid plans | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screaming Frog SEO Spider | Yes | From $16.58/mo | Small sites (under 500 URLs) that want a full technical check on the desktop. |
| Ahrefs Free (formerly Ahrefs Webmaster Tools) | Yes | See vendor | Bloggers who want backlink and keyword data on their own site without paying for Ahrefs. |
| Google Search Console | Yes | Free | Every site owner. Set it up before any other SEO tool. |
| Bing Webmaster Tools | Yes | Free | Site owners who already use Search Console: you can import your sites from it in a few clicks. |
Screaming Frog SEO Spider: what you get
A desktop crawler that finds broken links, redirects, missing titles and duplicate pages across a site.
- Price
- Licence £199 a year (about £16.58 a month); £169 per licence for 20 or more. The page showed pounds; a dollar price is available by switching currency.
- Free plan
- Free download that crawls up to 500 URLs per crawl. A licence removes the limit and unlocks saving crawls and advanced features.
- Best for
- Small sites (under 500 URLs) that want a full technical check on the desktop.
- Works on
- Windows, Mac, Linux
Pros
- Free version covers most small blogs completely
- Runs on Windows, Mac and Linux
Cons
- Free version stops at 500 URLs
- Desktop software with a technical interface
Key features
- Broken links and redirect chains
- Page titles, meta descriptions and headings
- Duplicate content checks
- XML sitemap generation
The alternatives
1. Ahrefs Free (formerly Ahrefs Webmaster Tools)
A free version of Ahrefs for sites you own: site audits, backlinks and the keywords you rank for.
- Price
- Free for verified sites. Researching competitors' sites needs a paid Ahrefs subscription (see Ahrefs' pricing page).
- Free plan
- Free for an unlimited number of sites you verify: Site Audit with 5,000 crawl credits per project a month, up to 1,000 backlinks and keywords visible at once, and web analytics up to 1M events per project.
- Best for
- Bloggers who want backlink and keyword data on their own site without paying for Ahrefs.
- Works on
- Web browser
Pros
- Backlink and keyword data most free tools don't have
- No limit on the number of your own sites
Cons
- Only works on sites you can verify
- Shows up to 1,000 backlinks and keywords at a time
Key features
- Site Audit (5,000 crawl credits a month per project)
- Backlinks and organic keywords for your site
- Web analytics
- Unlimited verified sites
Ahrefs Free alternatives · Compare with Screaming Frog SEO Spider
2. Google Search Console
Google's own free dashboard showing which searches bring people to your site and whether your pages are indexed.
- Price
- Free. Google describes it as "a free service offered by Google".
- Free plan
- Completely free. You verify that you own the site, then get search queries, clicks, rankings, indexing reports, sitemap submission and URL inspection.
- Best for
- Every site owner. Set it up before any other SEO tool.
- Works on
- Web browser
Pros
- The only first-hand data on how Google sees your site
- No limits and no upsell
Cons
- Covers Google only, and your own sites only
- Data starts only after you verify the site
Key features
- Search queries, clicks and average position
- Indexing and page experience reports
- Sitemap and URL submission
- Email alerts about site problems
Google Search Console alternatives · Compare with Screaming Frog SEO Spider
3. Bing Webmaster Tools
Microsoft's free equivalent of Search Console for Bing, which also feeds results to other search and AI tools.
- Price
- Free with a Microsoft, Google or Facebook account.
- Free plan
- Free. Import verified sites and sitemaps from Google Search Console (up to 100 at a time), then see Bing search performance, site scans and backlinks.
- Best for
- Site owners who already use Search Console: you can import your sites from it in a few clicks.
- Works on
- Web browser
Pros
- Two-minute setup if you already use Search Console
- Includes a free site scan and backlink report
Cons
- Bing's share of searches is far smaller than Google's
- Imported sites can take up to 48 hours to show data
Key features
- Import sites from Google Search Console
- Bing search performance reports
- Site scan for technical SEO problems
- IndexNow and URL submission
Bing Webmaster Tools alternatives · Compare with Screaming Frog SEO Spider
Sources
Official pages we checked for the prices, plans and limits on this page:
- Screaming Frog SEO Spider: www.screamingfrog.co.uk, checked October 26, 2026
- Ahrefs Free (formerly Ahrefs Webmaster Tools): ahrefs.com, checked October 26, 2026
- Google Search Console: support.google.com, search.google.com (2), checked October 26, 2026
- Bing Webmaster Tools: blogs.bing.com, www.bing.com (2), checked October 26, 2026