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Head-to-head · SEO Tools

Semrush vs Screaming Frog SEO Spider

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 7 checks side by side
Higher score Semrush #1 in SEO Tools 9.4/10 Free plan · 7-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 6 of 6 features Visit Semrush
Screaming Frog SEO Spider #5 in SEO Tools 9.0/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 3 of 6 features Visit Screaming Frog

Semrush leads on 0 checks, Screaming Frog SEO Spider on 0, and 7 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 7 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreSemrush · 9.4/10
  • Free planboth
  • Free trialonly Semrush
  • Most featuresSemrush · 6 of 6

Semrush scores higher on our rubric for seo tools: 9.4 against 9.0 out of 10; our editors rank them #1 and #5.

Semrush is the better fit for teams needing broad SEO and PPC intelligence. Screaming Frog SEO Spider is the better fit for technical SEO crawling specialists.

  • Semrush fits best

    Teams needing broad SEO and PPC intelligence

  • Screaming Frog SEO Spider fits best

    Technical SEO crawling specialists

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature Semrush 9.4/10 Visit ↗ Screaming Frog SEO Spider 9.0/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.4 9.0
Ranking #1 in SEO Tools #5 in SEO Tools
Best for Teams needing broad SEO and PPC intelligence Technical SEO crawling specialists
Pricing model Free plan + paid Free plan + paid
Starting price — —
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial 7 days —
Deployment Cloud Desktop
Platforms Web Windows, macOS, Linux
Support Tickets, Docs, Community Email, Tickets, Phone, Docs
Integrations 20+ integrations 10 integrations
Built for Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Semrush 6/6 · Screaming Frog SEO Spider 3/6
Keyword research ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Rank tracking ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Site audit ✓ ✓
Backlink analysis ✓ ✓
Competitor research ✓ (best) Not checked yet
API access ✓ ✓
Specs
Tracked keywords 500 keywords Not checked yet
Our review
Pros
  • Covers keyword research, rank tracking, crawling, backlinks, and competitors
  • Tracks up to 500 keywords daily on the SEO and Starter plans
  • Supports API access plus Google Analytics, Search Console, and Looker Studio
  • Deep crawling, rendering, duplicate analysis, and issue detection
  • Custom extraction with XPath, CSS Path, or regex
  • Windows, macOS, and Linux support with broad integrations
Cons
  • Broader coverage may exceed the needs of teams seeking one focused SEO tool
  • Higher tiers are needed for more websites and keyword tracking
  • Advanced capabilities are distributed across multiple plan levels
  • Free crawls are limited to 500 URLs per crawl
  • SEO Spider itself has no API access
  • Does not provide verified keyword research or rank tracking
Our verdict

Semrush is an online visibility management platform for marketers, agencies, and businesses. Its SEO toolkit brings together keyword discovery, competitor research, position tracking, technical website crawling, backlink analysis,…

Read the review →

Screaming Frog SEO Spider is a desktop website crawler for SEOs, agencies, and brands conducting technical SEO audits. It examines broken links, errors, redirects, page titles, meta descriptions, robots directives, hreflang, duplicate…

Read the review →
  1. SemrushSEO Tools 9.4Free plan · 7-day trial
  2. Screaming Frog SEO SpiderSEO Tools 9.0Free plan

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Semrush — where it wins

    • Covers keyword research, rank tracking, crawling, backlinks, and competitors
    • Tracks up to 500 keywords daily on the SEO and Starter plans
    • Supports API access plus Google Analytics, Search Console, and Looker Studio

    Where it doesn't

    • Broader coverage may exceed the needs of teams seeking one focused SEO tool
    • Higher tiers are needed for more websites and keyword tracking
    • Advanced capabilities are distributed across multiple plan levels

  • Screaming Frog SEO Spider — where it wins

    • Deep crawling, rendering, duplicate analysis, and issue detection
    • Custom extraction with XPath, CSS Path, or regex
    • Windows, macOS, and Linux support with broad integrations

    Where it doesn't

    • Free crawls are limited to 500 URLs per crawl
    • SEO Spider itself has no API access
    • Does not provide verified keyword research or rank tracking
  • Semrush9.4/10 · Free plan · 7-day trial

    Broad SEO and PPC intelligence with tracking, audits, competitor research, and API access.

    Visit SemrushFull verdict →
  • Screaming Frog SEO Spider9.0/10 · Free plan

    A deep desktop crawler for technical SEO audits, but not a complete keyword or rank-tracking suite.

    Visit Screaming FrogFull verdict →

More comparisons

All SEO tools comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update