SEO tools
The best SEO tools in 2026, by job — and the five you actually need
Hundreds of tools, five jobs. This is the shortlist a working UK agency runs every day, with free tiers and real prices so you can pick without a sales call.
No minimum contract · Itemised monthly deliverables · UK team, Fareham HQ · Reporting from your own GA4 & Search Console
Quick answer
5
tools cover 90% of real SEO work
3
of them are free
$129
is the realistic monthly entry for a paid platform
Scroll for the full shortlist with free tiers and prices.
The shortlist
The tools we actually use
Grouped by what they are for. Start with the free ones; add a paid platform when you need competitor data or scale.
Prices are as shown on vendor sites on 19 October 2026 and change often; we have no commercial relationship with any tool listed.
Ahrefs
Best for: Backlink and keyword research depth
All-in-one SEO suite: backlinks, keywords, site audit, rank tracking. The deepest link and keyword index we use.
Semrush
Best for: Breadth across SEO, PPC and content
All-in-one SEO, PPC, content and competitor research platform with the broadest feature set.
Moz Pro
Best for: Beginners and small teams
SEO suite with keyword research, rank tracking, site crawl and link data; the friendliest interface for beginners.
SE Ranking
Best for: Value for a single site or small agency
All-in-one platform with rank tracking, audit, keywords and AI-search tracking at a lower price than the big two.
Mangools
Best for: Affordable keyword research and tracking
Simple five-tool suite: KWFinder, SERPChecker, SERPWatcher, LinkMiner, SiteProfiler.
Similarweb
Best for: Competitor traffic estimates
Traffic, audience and competitor market intelligence rather than day-to-day SEO.
Screaming Frog SEO Spider
Best for: Technical audits of any size
The industry-standard desktop crawler: broken links, redirects, duplicate titles, canonicals, thin pages, JavaScript rendering.
Sitebulb
Best for: Audits you have to present to clients or managers
Desktop and cloud crawler with visual reports and prioritised hints — easier to explain to non-specialists.
Lumar
Best for: Enterprise sites with hundreds of thousands of URLs
Enterprise technical SEO crawler with log-file analysis and monitoring.
Seobility
Best for: Quick online health checks
Online SEO checker with audit, rank tracking and backlink checker.
SEOptimer
Best for: Lead-generating audit widgets for agencies
Instant website SEO audit with white-label PDF reports and an embeddable audit widget.
Google PageSpeed Insights
Best for: Speed and Core Web Vitals diagnostics
Google’s Core Web Vitals and Lighthouse performance report for any page.
Google Search Console
Best for: Non-negotiable for every site
Google’s own data on indexing, queries, page experience, manual actions and structured data.
Bing Webmaster Tools
Best for: Bing visibility and a second free audit
Bing’s equivalent of Search Console, with a built-in site scanner and keyword tool.
Google Keyword Planner
Best for: Volume ranges straight from Google
Google’s keyword volume and forecast tool inside Google Ads.
Google Trends
Best for: Seasonality and rising topics
Relative search interest over time and by region.
AlsoAsked
Best for: Question research for guides and FAQs
Maps People Also Ask questions into clusters for content planning.
AnswerThePublic
Best for: Brainstorming content angles
Visualises autocomplete questions and phrases around a seed keyword.
Keywords Everywhere
Best for: Keyword data while you browse
Browser extension that shows volume, CPC and related keywords inside Google and other sites.
Ubersuggest
Best for: Low-cost all-rounder for small sites
Keyword research, site audit and rank tracking from Neil Patel.
KWFinder (Mangools)
Best for: Long-tail research on a budget
Long-tail keyword research with difficulty scores, part of Mangools.
AccuRanker
Best for: Agencies tracking thousands of keywords
Fast, accurate daily rank tracker favoured by agencies.
Nightwatch
Best for: Local and multi-country tracking
Rank tracker with local and global SERP tracking and reporting.
Local Falcon
Best for: Map-pack rankings by location
Geo-grid rank tracking showing where you rank in Google Maps across an area.
BrightLocal
Best for: All-round local SEO platform
Local SEO platform: local rank tracking, citations, reviews and audits.
Advanced Web Ranking
Best for: White-label agency reporting
Cloud rank tracker with white-label reporting.
Wincher
Best for: Budget tracking for WordPress sites
Affordable rank tracker with a Yoast/WordPress integration.
SE Ranking
Best for: Tracking plus audit and keywords in one
Rank tracking included in the SE Ranking platform, with AI-search tracking add-on.
Ahrefs
Best for: Largest live link index
Site Explorer: referring domains, anchors, new and lost links, Domain Rating.
Majestic
Best for: Historical link data and topical trust
Long-standing UK backlink index with Trust Flow and Citation Flow and strong historical data.
Semrush Backlink Analytics
Best for: Link audits and disavow prep
Backlink database with toxicity scoring for audits.
Moz Link Explorer
Best for: Quick DA checks
Backlink analysis with Domain Authority and spam score.
LinkMiner (Mangools)
Best for: Quick checks on a budget
Simple backlink checker with link previews.
Google Search Console
Best for: Ground truth for your own site
The links Google knows about for your site, with no quality metrics.
Looker Studio
Best for: Free client dashboards
Google’s free dashboard builder with native Search Console and GA4 connectors.
AgencyAnalytics
Best for: Agencies with many clients
Multi-client reporting dashboards with white-label reports and scheduling.
DashThis
Best for: Fast setup for small teams
Automated marketing dashboards with preset templates.
Whatagraph
Best for: Large agencies
Marketing data reporting and visualisation for larger agencies.
Supermetrics
Best for: Feeding paid-tool data into free dashboards
Connectors that pull SEO and ads data into Sheets, Looker Studio and warehouses.
Swydo
Best for: PPC + SEO agency reports
Client reporting and monitoring for agencies.
Our stack if you only buy five
- Google Search Console (free) — how Google sees your site
- Screaming Frog (free to 500 URLs) — technical audits
- Ahrefs or Semrush — keywords, backlinks, competitors
- A rank tracker — SE Ranking, AccuRanker or Local Falcon for maps
- Looker Studio (free) — reporting
What tools cannot do
Decide what to work on first, write a page that says something competitors have not, or earn a link from a national newspaper. That judgement is what you are paying an agency or consultant for; the tools are the cheapest part. See SEO audit services and training.
FAQ
Questions we get asked
What is the best SEO tool for beginners?
Google Search Console first — free, and real data about your site. Then a simple all-in-one such as SE Ranking, Moz Pro or Mangools.
Ahrefs or Semrush?
Ahrefs for backlink and keyword depth; Semrush for breadth across SEO, PPC and content. Many agencies run both.
Do I need to pay for SEO tools?
For a small site the free tools cover most needs. Paid tools pay for themselves when you need competitor data, backlink analysis or tracking at scale.
Is there a free alternative to Ahrefs?
Partly: Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (free for verified sites), Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools and Keyword Planner.
Rather have someone run the tools for you?
Our free growth plan uses all of these on your site. You get the findings; we only get paid if you hire us.
Reply within one working day · No obligation · We will tell you if SEO is not the right spend