An SEO audit tool crawls your site the way a search engine would and lists what is broken: dead links, missing titles, slow pages, pages Google cannot index. Monitoring tools then tell you when those problems come back. This list covers 14 tools, free and paid, sorted by what each one is actually good at.
Quick answer: Start free. Google Search Console plus Bing Webmaster Tools show what the search engines themselves report, and Screaming Frog's free version crawls up to 500 URLs. Add Semrush, Ahrefs or SE Ranking only when you need competitor data, rank tracking or scheduled audits across many pages.
Tool details and prices below were checked against each vendor's site and current coverage in October 2026. Plans change often, so confirm on the pricing page before paying.
Which tool for which job
| Tool | Best for | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Google Search Console | Indexing errors, search queries, Core Web Vitals | Free |
| Bing Webmaster Tools | Bing/Yahoo/DuckDuckGo visibility, site scan | Free |
| Screaming Frog SEO Spider | Deep desktop crawl of one site | Free to 500 URLs, paid licence |
| Ahrefs (free for your own site) | Site audit plus backlink view | Free tier; paid plans from about $129/month (Lite) |
| Semrush | All-in-one audit, keywords, competitors | Paid; Pro is about $140/month, free tier is limited |
| SE Ranking | Cheaper all-in-one alternative | Paid |
| PageSpeed Insights / GTmetrix | Page speed and performance | Free tiers |
| SEOquake | Quick on-page check in Chrome | Free |
| Seobility, HubSpot Website Grader, Seolyzer | One-off checks and quick reports | Free tiers |
| SpyFu | Competitor keyword research | Paid |
Free tools from the search engines
Google Search Console
Google Search Console is the only tool that shows what Google itself says about your site. You verify ownership, then it reports which pages are indexed, which were excluded and why, which queries bring clicks, and how your pages score on Core Web Vitals. Nothing else on this list can replace it. If you are new to it, our guide on using Google Search Console to improve your SEO walks through the reports that matter.
Microsoft Bing Webmaster Tools
Bing Webmaster Tools is the Search Console equivalent for Bing, and Bing data also feeds Yahoo and DuckDuckGo results. It includes a site scan, keyword and backlink reports and a sitemap submission page. Setup is quick, because you can import a site you have already verified in Search Console.
Crawlers and all-in-one suites
Screaming Frog SEO Spider
Screaming Frog SEO Spider is desktop software that crawls your site on your own machine and lists broken links, redirect chains, duplicate titles, missing meta descriptions and more. The free version is capped at 500 URLs per crawl, which covers a small blog. The paid licence is annual and removes the cap; check the pricing page for the current figure.
Ahrefs
Ahrefs is best known for backlink data, but its Site Audit is thorough: it checks for well over a hundred technical and on-page issues and tracks a health score over time. Ahrefs offers a free tier for sites you own, after you verify ownership, which is enough for audits of your own site. Paid plans start at roughly $129 a month for Lite, and there is no free trial, so check the pricing page before you plan around it.
Semrush
Semrush bundles site audit, keyword research, rank tracking and competitor analysis. The audit flags issues with security, loading speed, meta tags and content. The free plan limits how many pages you can audit, and the paid Pro plan is priced at about $140 a month on monthly billing, with higher page limits. It is a good fit if you want one subscription for everything, and overkill if you only need to fix your own site.
SE Ranking
SE Ranking competes directly with Semrush and Ahrefs at a lower price. Its audit crawls your site, reports site health, UX and technical issues, and suggests fixes. If Semrush is more than you want to spend, trial this one first. For a side-by-side of the big names, see Semrush vs Ahrefs vs Ubersuggest.
SpyFu
SpyFu is built around competitors: it shows which keywords other sites rank and advertise for, so you can find gaps in your own coverage. It is a research tool more than an auditor, and it is paid.
Speed and performance checkers
PageSpeed Insights
PageSpeed Insights is Google's free test for page speed and Core Web Vitals. It shows both lab results and real-user field data when enough traffic exists. Use it alongside Search Console when a page is slow.
GTmetrix
GTmetrix is not a site crawler. It tests individual pages and breaks down load time, page weight and the requests slowing a page. A free account allows basic tests, and paid plans add more locations and monitoring. The site blocked our automated checker with a 403, so confirm the current plan limits on its pricing page.
Quick checkers and browser tools
SEOquake
SEOquake is a free Chrome extension from Semrush that shows on-page data for any page you open: title, headings, links and a basic audit. Semrush rebuilt it in September 2026 after some metrics stopped returning results, and the older search-results overlay is reported to be gone. Treat it as a quick glance tool, not a full audit.
Seobility
Seobility's SEO check analyses a URL against common on-page criteria and returns tips. It suits a small budget because the basic check is free.
HubSpot Website Grader
HubSpot Website Grader gives a report-card style score for performance, SEO, mobile and security. It is a fast first look, but the score is high level and the follow-up pushes HubSpot's own products.
Seolyzer
Seolyzer offers site crawling and server log analysis, which shows how search-engine bots actually move through your site. It is the most technical of the free options here.
SERPsim
SERPsim previews how your title and meta description will look in Google results before you publish. The address now redirects to a snippet optimizer on another company's site, so the tool has changed hands; the preview idea still works for tuning titles and descriptions.
What changed since the original guide
| Tool in the 2022 list | Status in 2026 |
|---|---|
| UpCity Free SEO Report Card | Link removed: the domain no longer resolves |
| GrowthBar | Link removed: the old page now lands on an unrelated homepage; the product was reported acquired by SEOptimer in 2025 |
| SEOquake | Still available, rebuilt September 2026 |
| SERPsim | Address now redirects to another company's snippet tool |
| Ahrefs | Now offers a free tier for verified sites |
Choosing without overspending
Run Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools first, since they cost nothing and show real problems. Crawl with Screaming Frog's free version next. Move to a paid suite when you need to track rankings, watch competitors or audit thousands of pages on a schedule. Google also sets the ground rules in its own Search Central documentation, which is worth reading before trusting any tool's score. If you want a step-by-step process, see how to perform an SEO audit and how to track your website's SEO results.
Sites that sell to China face a different setup, because Baidu rather than Google dominates there; this overview of SEO in China explains the differences, and none of the tools above cover Baidu well.
FAQ
Do I need a paid SEO tool to audit a small site?
No. Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, PageSpeed Insights and the free Screaming Frog crawl cover the issues that matter for a blog or small business site. Paid tools earn their cost when you manage several sites, track competitors or need scheduled reports.
How often should I run an SEO audit?
A full crawl every quarter is enough for most small sites, with Search Console checked weekly for new indexing errors. Run an extra audit after a redesign, a migration or any sudden traffic drop.
Can an SEO tool guarantee higher rankings?
No. Audit tools find technical and on-page faults, and fixing them removes obstacles, but rankings also depend on content quality and links. Treat a tool's score as a to-do list, not a prediction.
