Semrush is the best all-in-one SEO tool for most businesses and agencies. It combines keyword research, competitor analysis, rank tracking, backlink analysis, site auditing and content optimisation in one platform.
Ahrefs is the better choice for backlink research and competitor analysis. For a free SEO stack, use Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, Screaming Frog and PageSpeed Insights together.
Prices and plan limits below were checked on September 20, 2026.
Best SEO Tools at a Glance
| SEO tool | Best for | Main strengths | Starting cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Semrush | Best overall SEO platform | Keyword research, competitor analysis, rank tracking, site audits, content tools and backlinks | $139.95/month, or $117.33/month when billed annually for SEO Classic Pro |
| Ahrefs | Backlinks and competitor research | Link analysis, keyword research, content opportunities, rank tracking and site audits | $129/month for Lite; limited free access is available for verified websites |
| Google Search Console | Measuring Google Search performance | Search queries, clicks, impressions, indexing, URL inspection and Core Web Vitals | Free |
| Screaming Frog SEO Spider | Technical SEO audits | Crawling, broken links, redirects, metadata, canonicals, duplicate content and JavaScript rendering | Free for up to 500 URLs; paid licence is £199 per year |
| PageSpeed Insights | Page speed and Core Web Vitals | Real-user data from CrUX, Lighthouse lab tests and performance recommendations | Free |
| BrightLocal | Local SEO | Local rankings, Google Business Profile audits, citations, reviews and competitor benchmarking | From $31/month, with pricing varying by locations and plan |
| Bing Webmaster Tools | Bing and AI search visibility | Bing search data, keyword research, backlinks, site scans, URL inspection and chat-response reporting | Free |
1. Semrush Is the Best All-in-One SEO Tool
Semrush is the best SEO tool for most businesses, agencies and in-house marketing teams that need one platform for research, optimisation and reporting.
The Semrush SEO Toolkit includes:
- Keyword research
- Competitor analysis
- Position tracking
- Backlink analysis
- Site auditing
- Content optimisation
- Historical data on higher plans
- Google Analytics and Google Search Console integrations
- API access on the Business plan
The SEO Classic Pro plan monitors up to five websites, tracks up to 500 keywords and crawls up to 100,000 pages per month. Guru raises those limits and adds historical data, multi-location and device tracking, content tools and Looker Studio reporting.
Why Semrush Fits This Use Case
Semrush connects the main parts of an SEO workflow:
- Find keyword opportunities.
- Compare competitors.
- Create or improve content.
- Track rankings.
- Audit technical issues.
- Report on results.
That combination makes it a useful choice for teams that would otherwise need several separate tools.
Where Semrush Falls Short
Semrush is expensive for a small website that only needs basic keyword research or indexing data. The lower plans also have usage limits, so agencies and larger websites may need a higher tier.
Choose Semrush if: you want one paid platform for content SEO, competitor research, technical SEO and reporting.
2. Ahrefs Is Best for Backlinks and Competitor Research
Ahrefs is the best choice when backlink data, competitor discovery and content gap analysis are your highest priorities.
Ahrefs includes:
- Site Explorer
- Keywords Explorer
- Site Audit
- Rank Tracker
- Content Explorer
- Competitor analysis
- Link intersect and backlink gap analysis
- AI visibility tracking through Brand Radar on eligible plans
The current Ahrefs Lite plan costs $129 per month and includes five projects, 750 tracked keywords, 100,000 crawl credits per month and six months of historical data. Ahrefs also provides limited free access for verified websites through Ahrefs Free.
Why Choose Ahrefs?
Ahrefs is useful when you need answers to questions such as:
- Which websites link to my competitors?
- Which pages attract the most backlinks in my industry?
- Which topics have strong organic traffic potential?
- Which keywords do competitors rank for that my site does not?
- Which backlinks may be helping a competitor rank?
Ahrefs Brand Radar can track brand visibility across Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Microsoft Copilot on eligible plans.
Where Ahrefs Falls Short
Ahrefs is costly if you only need occasional research. Its plans also use limits for projects, tracked keywords, crawl credits, historical data and reports.
Choose Ahrefs if: link building, competitor research and content opportunity analysis matter more than integrated advertising and marketing features.
3. Google Search Console Is the Best Free SEO Tool
Google Search Console is essential for every website because it provides direct data about how Google crawls, indexes and displays your site.
Search Console shows:
- Queries that generate impressions and clicks
- Pages appearing in Google Search
- Average position and click-through rate
- Indexing problems
- URL inspection data
- Sitemap status
- Manual actions and security issues
- Core Web Vitals
- Search performance by country, device and search type
Google describes Search Console as the source of truth for Google Search performance. Google Analytics is better for analysing what visitors do after they arrive on your website.
What Search Console Does Better Than Paid Tools
Search Console gives first-party information that third-party platforms estimate, including:
- Whether Google has indexed a URL
- The queries for which your pages actually appeared
- Google's selected canonical URL
- Search performance for your own website
- Page-level indexing and crawling information
Where Search Console Falls Short
Search Console does not provide full competitor keyword research, broad backlink intelligence or a complete content-planning workflow.
Use Search Console regardless of which paid SEO tool you choose.
4. Screaming Frog Is the Best Technical SEO Crawler
Screaming Frog SEO Spider is the best tool for finding technical problems across individual pages and entire websites.
It can identify:
- Broken internal and external links
- Redirect chains
- 404 and server-error pages
- Missing or duplicated title tags
- Missing meta descriptions
- Incorrect canonicals
- Noindex directives
- Duplicate content
- Orphaned pages when combined with sitemap and analytics data
- JavaScript-rendered content
- XML sitemap problems
- Pagination and hreflang issues
The free version crawls up to 500 URLs per crawl. The paid version removes that limit and adds features such as saving and reopening crawls. Screaming Frog lists its licence at £199 per year.
Where Screaming Frog Falls Short
Screaming Frog is a crawler rather than a complete SEO research platform. It does not replace a keyword database, backlink index or rank tracker.
Choose Screaming Frog if: your priority is diagnosing technical SEO issues, especially on large or complex websites.
5. PageSpeed Insights Is the Best Tool for Page Performance
PageSpeed Insights is the best free tool for checking page speed, Core Web Vitals and performance diagnostics.
PageSpeed Insights combines:
- Field data, based on real Chrome users through the Chrome User Experience Report
- Lab data, generated through Lighthouse testing
- Mobile and desktop testing
- Largest Contentful Paint
- Interaction to Next Paint
- Cumulative Layout Shift
- First Contentful Paint
- Time to First Byte
- Accessibility and best-practice audits
Google classifies user experience as Good, Needs Improvement or Poor. A good Largest Contentful Paint result is 2.5 seconds or less, while a good Interaction to Next Paint result is 200 milliseconds or less.
How to Use PageSpeed Insights
Do not treat the performance score as the only objective. Prioritise:
- Real-user Core Web Vitals.
- Slow page templates.
- Pages that generate leads or revenue.
- Issues affecting mobile users.
- Problems that developers can realistically fix.
Choose PageSpeed Insights if: you need to understand whether slow pages or poor user experience may be affecting visitors and search performance.
6. BrightLocal Is the Best SEO Tool for Local Businesses
BrightLocal is the best specialist platform for businesses that depend on Google Maps, local rankings, business listings and customer reviews.
BrightLocal supports:
- Local organic rank tracking
- Google Maps and Local Pack monitoring
- Geo-grid ranking reports
- Google Business Profile audits
- Citation auditing
- Competitor benchmarking
- Review monitoring
- Review generation
- Local AI visibility tracking
- White-label reporting
BrightLocal starts at $31 per month for its Track plan. The final price depends on the number of locations and the selected plan.
Where BrightLocal Falls Short
BrightLocal is highly specialised. It is not the best choice for national keyword research, large-scale backlink analysis or general technical SEO.
Choose BrightLocal if: customers search for your business by location, service area or "near me" queries.
7. Bing Webmaster Tools Is a Useful Free Secondary Data Source
Bing Webmaster Tools is the best free complement to Google Search Console for monitoring Bing, Microsoft search experiences and some AI-powered search results.
Its features include:
- Bing search performance data
- Keyword research
- Backlink reports
- Site Explorer
- Site Scan
- URL inspection
- Sitemap management
- IndexNow
- SEO recommendations
- Reporting for impressions in web search, chat responses, news answers, image results and knowledge panels
Bing Webmaster Tools is free. It can provide data that Google Search Console does not show, particularly for Bing search and Microsoft search experiences.
Where Bing Webmaster Tools Falls Short
Bing data does not represent Google rankings. Use Bing Webmaster Tools alongside Google Search Console rather than as a replacement for it.
Which SEO Tool Should You Choose?
The right choice depends on the work you need to do and the size of your website.
Choose Semrush for One Paid SEO Platform
Semrush suits businesses that need keyword research, competitor analysis, rank tracking, site auditing and content optimisation in one system.
Choose Ahrefs for Backlink Research
Ahrefs is better suited to link building, competitor backlink research and finding content opportunities based on organic traffic and links.
Choose the Free Stack When You Are Starting Out
Use:
- Google Search Console
- Google Analytics
- Bing Webmaster Tools
- Screaming Frog
- PageSpeed Insights
This combination covers search performance, traffic analysis, indexing, technical crawling, Bing visibility and page performance without an expensive all-in-one subscription. Google identifies Search Console as the source for Google Search performance and Google Analytics as the source for on-site behaviour.
Choose BrightLocal for Local SEO
Use BrightLocal when your success depends on Google Business Profile visibility, map rankings, citations and reviews.
Choose Screaming Frog for Technical SEO
Use Screaming Frog when you need to crawl a website and find issues that are difficult to identify manually.
A Practical SEO Tool Stack for Most Websites
For many small and medium-sized businesses, the following setup covers the main needs:
- Google Search Console for Google Search data
- Semrush or Ahrefs for keyword and competitor research
- Screaming Frog for technical audits
- PageSpeed Insights for performance and Core Web Vitals
- Google Analytics for leads, sales and on-site behaviour
- BrightLocal if the business serves a specific local area
You do not need every tool on this list. A local business may get more value from BrightLocal than Ahrefs, while a technical SEO team may need Screaming Frog before it needs a large keyword database.
Final Recommendation
For most businesses and agencies, Semrush is the strongest single paid choice.
Choose Ahrefs when backlink research and competitor content analysis matter more. If your budget is limited, start with Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, Screaming Frog and PageSpeed Insights before paying for a larger platform.
SEO tools do not improve rankings automatically. Their value comes from helping you identify useful keywords, technical problems, content gaps and performance trends, then turning those findings into changes that improve the site.