Looking to rank higher but don’t want to pay? Perhaps you’ll find luck in some of the best free SEO tools on the market. They say there’s no such thing as a free lunch. We partially disagree. Complimentary SEO software might not be as capable as paid options.
However, the tools presented below still offer plenty of reasons to be excited. From keyword and domain analysis to rank tracking, site audits, and even keyword suggestions. Best of all, you don’t have to pay a single dollar or provide credit card information. Let’s dive right in without wasting another second.
Best Free SEO Tools of 2026: Our Selection
As some of these free SEO software lacks certain features, we recommend combining them to get the best effect. However, in our testing, all of them displayed glaring qualities that we wanted to highlight. In the meantime, you can take a detour to our paid SEO tools selection. These tools offer way more and put no restrictions on their features.
If you can’t pay or don’t want to spend anything, here are the top 20 free SEO tools that you can enjoy instead.
1. Semrush
Semrush is a state-of-the-art complimentary SEO tool you can use without hassle. A premium tool by default, Semrush offers a dedicated free plan with limited features. However, these features are still numerous and varied for a great experience.
Free users can use its Keyword Magic tool for better keyword optimization and hundreds of suggestions. We also appreciate its Site Audit tool that works in the non-paid plan. Moreover, Semrush can analyze domains and perform competitive analysis.
This is key to overtaking your competition and boosting your ranking in SERPs. Semrush’s capabilities don’t end there. There’s a splendid link-building tool that lets you reach out directly to websites and ask for a backlink or a guest post.
Semrush comes with content marketing, social media, and local SEO features to cover every aspect of search engine optimization. Of course, free users will be limited to a few requests daily and some data won’t be available. But if you want, you can test its premium plan for free.
Semrush’s 14-day free trial comes in handy for that. If not, you can use it for free forever and not pay a dime. You can refer to our Semrush test for more info.
2. SE Ranking
SE Ranking is one of the best all-around free SEO tools. Again, you’ll be enjoying an array of diverse features, like keyword research, domain analysis, rank tracking, and on-page SEO. SE Ranking sticks out thanks to a beautiful interface and impeccable information delivery.
This non-paid SEO tool comes with valuable data, such as keyword search intent, volumes, and traffic estimation. We also appreciate its daily rank-tracking updates, helping you stay on top of the game and correct your SEO strategy if needed.
SE Ranking’s website audits are excellent, as they detect urgent issues and advise solutions to eliminate them. The tool also comes with content marketing tools, one of which is its Content Editor which improves your writing quality tremendously.
Now, SE Ranking isn’t free but offers a 14-day free trial that you can use without a credit card. Simply sign up and get going. In addition, it’s pretty cheap, so if you decide to leap to this side, you’ll pay a measly $52/mo (Semrush is $117/mo in comparison).
Bear in mind that SE Ranking comes with many quality free SEO tools that you can use without registering. They include CMS Checker, Website Speed Checker, Word Counter, IP Lookup, and at least ten more. Check the SE Ranking review for our opinion on it.
3. Mangools
Mangools is easily one of our favorite free software to improve your SEO. It consists of 5 separate tools, including:
- KWFinder – an amazing keyword research tool
- SERPChecker – a solution for in-depth SERP analysis
- SERPWatcher – rank-tracking tool with daily information updates
- LinkMiner – a backlink analysis solution with plenty of data
- SiterProfiler – a general domain analysis tool
As you can see, this free SEO tool covers everything you need. In our experience, Mangools has always performed well, being extremely easy to use. It’s not as generous as Semrush and SE Ranking but its free version is good enough for basic needs.
Better yet, it has an amazing 10-day free trial that gives you a glimpse of its premium offers. You’ll be able to analyze keywords, track your ranking, and examine your backlink profile while paying nothing. To clarify things, you can also use it for free forever.
The main appeal, at least for us, is its dirt-cheap premium plans. The Entry plan is just $19.90 a month and it’s more than enough for above-basic needs. If you decide you want to pay no more, well… simply use a 48-hour money-back guarantee and get a refund.
4. Ahrefs
Ahrefs is another beast in the world of search engine optimization. With a litany of features that include keyword research, domain overview, and site audits, it’s way above the competition. Sadly, most of its stand-out features are locked behind the paywall.
If you opt for its free options, Ahrefs includes a handful of free SEO tools that you can use without registering. We like its keyword generator that comes up with keywords based on the seed keyword you provide. The difficult checker is also here.
Simply enter the keyword and see how difficult it is to rank for it. Our team loves its support for other search engines. For instance, it displays keyword suggestions for YouTube, Bing, and Amazon to diversify your presence on the internet.
More impressively, there’s the backlink checker to examine your backlink profile with this free SEO tool. Ahrefs includes many more solutions but we won’t go over all of them here. Some of our favorites, apart from those above, are:
- SERP Checker
- Broken Link Checker
- Website Traffic Checker
- Website Authority Checker
If you want a taste of its premium plan, you’ll have to pay immediately. Ahrefs has no free trial, which is a cardinal mistake in our book.
5. MozBar
Moz offers a free version that’ll shower you with limits in terms of keyword research, link research, and other features. Its MozBar is different. This is a free SEO tool for Chrome that you can set up and start using in a minute. What type of info you’ll be getting?
Well, things like the domain authority and ranking keywords of the website you’re on. The extension also lets you perform other analyses and add filters like the search engine, region, country, or city. Its MozBar includes the option to export all data to CSV.
Furthermore, MozBar is great for keyword-related SEO tasks. You can search for keywords ideas and get data about their volume and difficulty. You’ll also get content advice that you can use to craft new articles and improve your ranking.
Interested in Moz Pro? Well, you can use it as free SEO software too. There’s a whopping 30-day free trial to help with that. MozBar, however, is really free but it can be used only as a browser extension on Chrome, Edge, and Brave. Download it and test it out – it’s awesome.
6. SEO Spider
SEO Spider is a dedicated free SEO app that you can install on Windows, macOS, and Linux. It’s not the best-looking but still works well for website crawling, auditing, and detecting broken links. Its free version is rather basic, so don’t expect miracles.
In our test, SEO Spider audited 500 URLs and detected a few issues that we resolved momentarily. Its interface is a bit cluttered and somewhat intimidating at first, however. SEO Spider is more of a “raw data” type of software, with no graphs and aesthetics of SE Ranking.
If you want its paid version, you can get it for $259 a year and crawl unlimited URLs. The paid version includes third-party integrations, report scheduling, segmentation, and many more options. We don’t recommend it because it doesn’t offer other SEO tools like our top 3 picks.
7. Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a perfect tool to analyze your Google position. You’re directly asking the search engine you’re on for more information – imagine the accuracy you’re getting! GSC displays your current ranking once you provide your domain address.
Things like impressions, number of clicks, and most visited pages will be displayed. In addition, Google Search Console shows you the devices used to visit your site and even the demographics and geolocation of visitors for a more in-depth analysis.
Apart from that, you can analyze pages separately and see how they perform. GSC is useful for plenty of cases. For instance, you can check if your website is mobile-friendly or get more information about core web vitals to evaluate the website’s performance.
Google Search Console doesn’t have a premium plan. You get everything without paying or commitment. However, to analyze the domain, you have to be the owner and go through the verification process to prove it, so it can analyze only your domains, not competitors.
8. Keyword Tool
If you struggle with keyword optimizations, Keyword Tool is for you. To ensure you get it, this tool’s domain is keywordtool.io because there are similar tools. The one we’re referring to is basic. It gives you keyword suggestions based on the seed keyword.
That’s all?
No. Being one of the top free tools for SEO, Keyword Tool easily finds long-tail keywords as well. We also like its vast support for search engines. You can use it to check for keywords on Google, Bing, YouTube, Amazon, eBay, X, Pinterest, and many more.
Keyword Tool relies on Google Autocomplete for better accuracy. You can also select from hundreds of locations and dozens of languages. Once the keyword is provided, press the Magnifying Glass icon, and voila – you get your suggestions in seconds!
You don’t have to register or pay a dollar, mind you. Of course, if you’re after more suggestions, you’ll shell out some cash. Albeit, that’s unnecessary when you can use Semrush or SE Ranking instead. They surpass Keyword Tool and offer even more SEO features.
9. Grammarly
Wait a second, how is Grammarly a free SEO tool? Because it’s amazing at improving your content and making it sound more cohesive! It works on all devices and can be integrated with browsers or Microsoft Word. Granted, Grammarly won’t improve your SEO directly.
However, better content leads to more visitors and more visitors lead to better ranking eventually! Grammarly is effective at removing grammar errors and rephrasing your sentences. As a free solution, it’ll also remove redundancies and clarify your text.
Its AI-driven features are amazing. Users can choose the type of audience they’re targeting, ensuring the article sounds and feels appropriate. More information like delivery, engagement, and clarity are also there, similar to Semrush’s SEO Writing Assistant.
Grammarly is really free and can be used like that forever with an account. Its premium plans are pricier if you’re seeking maximum improvements and corrections. However, we found its free plan sufficient for all our writing and editing needs.
10. AlsoAsked
AlsoAsked is very intuitive and simple to use. It helps you discover popular questions related to the subject you provide. Simply open the website, provide the keyword and press Search. Now, you’ll get a nice-looking diagram of frequently asked questions.
Apart from questions, you’ll get sub-questions that you can further explore and cover in your articles. AlsoAsked doesn’t offer any other free SEO tools, so don’t expect it to bring drastic SEO improvements to the table. It’s more useful for obtaining content ideas.
11. SEOquake
SEOquake is a nifty little browser extension with a few free SEO tools. It displays crucial information about the page you’re on, such as internal links, external links, and keywords. Its backlink analysis is excellent too and tells you plenty about the backlink profile of the site.
We like that SEOquake is simple to use and completely free. Simply download it, sign in, and you’re all set. After that, you can analyze things like keyword density, repeats, and prominence. You can also discover if the page has been indexed by Google.
Interestingly, SEOquake includes the Semrush ranking metric, which explains how relevant this tool is. SEOquake doesn’t have a premium plan. That said, don’t expect advanced features like content marketing, AI writer options, and so forth.
12. Yoast SEO
WordPress users prefer Yoast SEO as a free tool for search engine optimization. It comes with a heap of information about your content structure and improvement advice. For instance, it shows issues with outbound links, meta description, text length, and SEO title words.
If the paragraph is over 300 words long, it’ll warn you to reduce its size and make the article more readable. Yoast SEO also warns you of little things like passive voice, sentence length, and image-related issues to further optimize your article.
In our book, the free version is sufficient and will serve you well. The premium option is viable and it unlocks even more optimization features to maximize your writing and SEO potential. Bear in mind that Yoast SEO works only in WordPress and Shopify.
13. WordStream Free Keyword Tool
WordStream Free Keyword Tool is worth mentioning if you want to prioritize keyword optimization. It couldn’t be simpler either. You need to provide a keyword, select the niche, and choose the country. After you confirm your choice, the keywords appear.
You don’t need an account, so no complex registration process will transpire. Free Keyword Tool displays dozens of keyword suggestions with their search volume, low and high-range top-of-page bids, and competition.
After testing it, we noticed it usually displays low-competition keywords. To discover more, you have to provide your email address and register. To be honest, we prefer Keyword Tool (keywordtool.io) but this one is pretty good for basic needs.
14. Google Analytics
Google Analytics is often mentioned as a respectable free SEO tool. After all, it comes from Google’s kitchen, promising accurate and authentic information. You can access Google Analytics through your website and gather real-time ranking data.
For instance, you’ll discover the number of new visitors, average engagement time, and your total revenue. Google Analytics also showcases your website performance and visibility, telling you if your performance is improving over time. There’s one more curiosity.
Google Analytics shows you which keywords led visitors to your domain. In addition, things like monetization, retention, bounce rate, and demographics are all available. As said, this is a 100% free SEO tool, so you’ll face no payments or subscriptions.
15. Ubersuggest
Ubersuggest comes from Neil Patel, a famous entrepreneur and SEO expert. It’s a paid tool by default but you won’t go wrong with the free plan. Alas, it’s limited and you won’t get the full experience. Ubersuggest offers only 3 keyword searches daily.
However, the information you get includes difficulty, search volume, paid difficulty, CPC, and a bit of historical data. Users can also obtain keyword suggestions and plan their content accordingly. This, in turn, helps to rank higher on a myriad of search engines.
Ubersuggest includes a few other tools. You’ll find the domain overview handy for analyzing domain-related parameters. Discovering top-ranking pages and backlink data is intuitive and will cost nothing. Not to mention daily rank tracking that Ahrefs’ paid version doesn’t have.
We’ll quickly mention a few of its premium incentives. Ubersuggest has a 7-day trial and amazing Lifetime plans if you need more features. Just bear in mind it’s still not better than Semrush, SE Ranking, and Mangools.
16. GTmetrix
GTmetrix gives you information about your website’s loading speed. It’s a great free SEO tool in 2026 if performance optimization is your #1 goal. Open the website, provide the URL, and click “Test Now.” GTmetrix will spew an array of insights.
Things like the website structure, page loading, overall performance, and a few others will be there. From here, you can decide on the next steps, see what you can do, and rank better on Google or any other search engine you aim for. GTmetrix isn’t impressive, though.
After using Semrush’s site audits, we must admit they’re faster and more thorough. GTmetrix is for basic performance improvements, after all. Oh, and while it’s free, it does require an account and can’t be used as is, unlike Ahrefs’ free tools, for example.
17. BrightLocal
Local SEO takes an extra effort to boost but with BrightLocal, that can be simplified. It can analyze keywords locally with its SERP Checker, helping you rank higher. Free users can also enjoy its RankFlux, which is handy for monitoring algorithms and ranking changes daily.
BrightLocal doesn’t look too modern and is, in fact, a bit outdated. We think it’s not an issue given its snappiness and efficient local SEO rank tracking. BrightLocal’s premium version includes much more, from site audits to listing management, and other features.
If you’re willing to give it a shot, a 14-day free trial without a credit card sounds exciting. However, BrightLocal is only for local SEO. If you’re aiming to rank higher elsewhere, Semrush and SE Ranking remain smarter choices.
18. Google Keyword Planner
Another great free SEO tool in 2026 comes from Google. Its powerful Keyword Planner lets you meticulously find new keywords to target in your content. Best of all, it’s simple to set up. Provide the seed keyword, select the location, and you’re done.
Google Keyword Planner will list the suggested keywords with average monthly searches, competition, YoY change, CPC, and other data. Google Keyword Planner also discovers long-tail keywords that can be used to improve overall ranking for more specific terms.
It’s identical to Google Search Console price-wise. As expected, it’s a non-paid SEO tool that needs no registration or upfront payments. Information-wise, it’s about on par with other average options, so it doesn’t quite match up to the top 3 free SEO software listed above.
19. Can I Rank
Can you? Well, now you have someone to ask. Can I Rank or “CanIRank” answer this burning question once you provide the keyword. Type in the keyword and find its keyword difficulty immediately telling you if you can rank for it.
We like how straightforward this software is. Each keyword analysis includes difficulty, volume, CPC, and number of searches. You’ll also receive a few keyword suggestions to help you rank for the given term – if you can, that is.
20. Animalz Revive
At number 20, we have the last free SEO tool for today. Animalz Revive isn’t a clinic for bringing back animals to life. Instead, it’s made for updating obsolete content and improving the ranking of the pages that lose traffic and visitors. You have to provide a URL first.
Now, Animalz Revive crawls the website to find the worst-performing pages. It then displays the traffic loss, the lost visitors, and the pages you should work on first. This basic information might not be enough for everyone but after all, it’s free.
At least you can think about optimizing the lacking pages or using a Semrush coupon to get a discount and fully improve these pages in no time. Animalz Revive at least helps you revive something, even if we’re talking about a few pages on your website.
Conclusion
This extensive list of the best free SEO tools has all you need to start working on your ranking. Our favorite options are Semrush, SE Ranking, and Mangools. With their diverse tools that cover many SEO aspects, they’ll surely offer the most value.
Ahrefs and MozBar are close as well, especially Ahrefs whose 10+ free SEO tools offer a heap of valuable data. Other options on this list are more limited and usually revolve around single aspects like keywords, site crawling, keyword suggestions, and so on.
The good thing is that most of our tools don’t need registration to be used, so you can dive right in. Remember that Semrush, SE Ranking, and Mangools offer free plans and free trials for testing, and with the most tools on offer, we think they’re worth a shot.
Will you lose anything? Like a minute of your time. Will you gain something? The opportunity to boost your website SEO and let Google know you’re working your butt off. Don’t wait. Try these free SEO tools and boost your online presence.