SEO tools
SEO audit tools and website checkers: free and paid, and which to trust
Instant “SEO checkers” give you a score; crawlers give you the fix list. Here is which is which, what each costs and how to run a real audit yourself.
No minimum contract · Itemised monthly deliverables · UK team, Fareham HQ · Reporting from your own GA4 & Search Console
Quick answer
Free
Search Console + Screaming Frog (500 URLs)
$279/yr
Screaming Frog full licence
£600
our professional audit, small sites
Scroll for the full shortlist with free tiers and prices.
The shortlist
Audit tools and checkers
From free instant checks to enterprise crawlers.
Prices are as shown on vendor sites on 19 October 2026 and change often; we have no commercial relationship with any tool listed.
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.
How to run a basic SEO audit yourself
- Check Search Console for indexing errors, manual actions and Core Web Vitals failures
- Crawl the site with Screaming Frog; export duplicate or missing titles, H1s and descriptions, broken links and redirect chains
- Run PageSpeed Insights on your key templates
- Search your brand and key services; note what ranks and what is missing
- Review your backlink profile for obvious spam
- List the fixes in order of impact — then start
When to pay for an audit
When the site matters to revenue and you need a prioritised plan rather than a score. Our audits start at £600 for small sites and come with a fix list your developers can action.
FAQ
Questions we get asked
What is the best free SEO audit tool?
Google Search Console plus Screaming Frog’s free tier covers most of what a small site needs.
Are online SEO checkers accurate?
They catch obvious technical issues; they cannot judge content quality, intent match or competition.
How often should I audit my website?
A full audit annually or after major changes; automated crawls monthly; Search Console weekly.
What does a professional SEO audit cost?
Ours are fixed-fee: from £600 (small sites), £1,500 (mid) and £3,000 (large or ecommerce).
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