The best SEO tools
About SEO
SEO is how you get traffic from search engines by creating content that answers what people search for. It takes months to build but traffic is free and predictable once you have it. Learn what search engines want, how to do keyword research, how to write for people and search, and how to measure progress and find what works.
Top picks
SurferSEO
Optimise your content in real time with recommendations based on top-ranking search results.
Best for: Content teams, SEO specialists, agencies and founders who publish articles for search and want data-based guidance on what to write and how to optimise it for Google and AI search.
- Free plan
- No
- Price
- From €49/mo
- MCP server
- Yes
- API
- Yes
Ahrefs
Combines backlink analysis, keyword research, rank tracking and technical audits built on an extensive web index.
Best for: B2B founders, marketers and agencies who treat organic search and content as a real growth channel and need reliable backlink, keyword and competitor data.
- Free plan
- Yes
- Price
- From €27/mo
- MCP server
- Yes
- API
- Yes
SEMrush
Unify keyword research, backlink analysis, technical audits and rank tracking in one dashboard.
Best for: Marketing teams, agencies and growth marketers who want keyword research, backlink analysis, site audits, rank tracking and now AI search visibility in one subscription.
- Free plan
- Yes
- Price
- From €112.52/mo
- MCP server
- Yes
- API
- Yes
Frase
Research competitors, draft long-form content and optimise it for Google and generative search.
Best for: Content marketers, SEO teams and agencies who publish articles at volume and want research, drafting, publishing and ranking checks, including visibility in AI search, in one tool.
- Free plan
- No
- Price
- From $39/mo
- MCP server
- Yes
- API
- Yes
Otterly.AI
Monitor how your brand appears inside AI search results across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI and Copilot.
Best for: Marketing and SEO teams and agencies who want to see whether ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and similar engines mention and cite their brand compared with competitors.
- Free plan
- No
- Price
- From $25/mo
- MCP server
- Yes
- API
- Yes
The top 4 side by side
| 15 points compared | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starts at | €49/mo | €27/mo | €112.52/mo | $39/mo |
| Free plan | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| API | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MCP server | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AI content optimiser | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Rank tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Technical site audit | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Backlink index | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Keyword research database | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Brand sentiment analysis | Yes | Yes | ||
| Brand voice / custom tone | Yes | Yes | ||
| Long-form editor | Yes | Yes | ||
| SEO optimisation | Yes | Yes | ||
| Share of voice vs competitors | Yes | Yes | ||
| Team collaboration | Yes | Yes | ||
| Links |
All SEO tools
- Optimise your content in real time with recommendations based on top-ranking search results.
- Combines backlink analysis, keyword research, rank tracking and technical audits built on an extensive web index.
- Unify keyword research, backlink analysis, technical audits and rank tracking in one dashboard.
- Research competitors, draft long-form content and optimise it for Google and generative search.
- Monitor how your brand appears inside AI search results across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI and Copilot.
- Track how your brand appears in AI search answers and measure your share of voice.
- Tracks how AI assistants describe your brand and recommends content changes to improve those answers.
- Monitor how your brand appears in AI search answers across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and other engines.
Tracks brand mentions and visibility across AI answer engines like ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews.
Grades content on keyword and topic coverage ranked by Google, using AI analysis of competing top-ranking pages.
Monitor your organic search performance with impressions, clicks, and search queries per site.
Manage how your business shows up on Google Search and Maps, including reviews, photos, posts and hours.
Put SEO to work
How we rank
Every tool in a category is ranked by the same rule, worked out from the data we hold, not by who pays us. In order:
- How many of the category's shared features it has.
- Whether there is a free plan to start on.
- How open it is to AI: an API and an MCP server.
- Whether its pricing is public.
- Name, A to Z, when all else is equal.
When we add a tool or learn more about one, the ranking updates by itself.