Best Free SEO Tools in 2025

You don't need to spend $100/month on Ahrefs or Semrush to do SEO well. There are genuinely good free tools that cover 90% of what most site owners need.

I've used all of these. Here's what each one is actually good at, where it falls short, and who should use it.

1. Google Search Console

Best for: Understanding how Google sees your site.

Search Console is the single most important SEO tool, and it's completely free. It shows you which queries bring people to your site, which pages rank, your average position, click-through rates, and indexing issues.

What makes it irreplaceable: this is actual data from Google. Every other tool estimates. Search Console tells you the truth. You can see exactly which pages are indexed, which have errors, and which Google has decided to ignore.

Limitations: Data is delayed by a few days. It only shows your own site (no competitor analysis). The interface is functional but not pretty.

Who should use it: Everyone. If you have a website and you're not using Search Console, set it up today. It takes 10 minutes.

2. Google PageSpeed Insights

Best for: Page speed and Core Web Vitals.

Enter a URL, get a detailed performance report. PageSpeed Insights combines real-world data from Chrome users (CrUX) with lab data from Lighthouse. It shows your Core Web Vitals scores and specific recommendations for improvement.

The real value is the CrUX data — actual performance metrics from real visitors. Lab data tells you what could be slow; CrUX tells you what is slow.

Limitations: Only checks one page at a time. CrUX data requires enough traffic to generate a report (small sites won't have it). Recommendations can be overly technical for beginners.

Who should use it: Anyone optimizing page speed. Check your key pages monthly.

3. Screaming Frog SEO Spider (Free Version)

Best for: Technical SEO crawling.

Screaming Frog crawls your site like a search engine and reports what it finds — broken links, missing meta tags, duplicate content, redirect chains, and more. The free version crawls up to 500 URLs, which is enough for most small-to-medium sites.

It's a desktop app (Windows, Mac, Linux) and it's incredibly powerful. SEO professionals have been using it for years because nothing else gives you this level of detail about your site's technical health.

Limitations: 500 URL limit on free version. The interface is dense and overwhelming for beginners — it looks like a spreadsheet had a baby with a network analyzer. No scheduled crawls on free.

Who should use it: Anyone with basic technical knowledge who wants to find and fix site-wide issues. Worth learning even if the interface scares you at first.

4. Ubersuggest (Free Tier)

Best for: Keyword research on a budget.

Neil Patel's Ubersuggest offers a limited free tier that gives you keyword suggestions, search volume estimates, and basic competitor analysis. You get 3 searches per day without signing up, more if you create a free account.

The keyword ideas are decent for brainstorming. It also shows you which pages rank for a given keyword and estimates their traffic. Not as accurate as Ahrefs or Semrush, but good enough for finding opportunities.

Limitations: Very limited daily searches on free. Data accuracy varies — take the numbers as rough estimates, not gospel. The site pushes hard toward paid plans.

Who should use it: Beginners doing keyword research. Good starting point before investing in paid tools.

5. Ahrefs Webmaster Tools

Best for: Backlink data and site health for your own site.

Ahrefs offers a free version of their tool specifically for verified site owners. You get access to their Site Audit (crawls your site for technical issues) and Site Explorer data for your own domain — including backlinks, referring domains, and organic keywords.

Ahrefs has one of the best backlink indexes on the web, so even the free version gives you valuable data you can't get elsewhere. The Site Audit is thorough and the interface is cleaner than most.

Limitations: Only works for sites you verify ownership of (no competitor spying). Can't explore other domains. Some features are limited compared to paid plans.

Who should use it: Site owners who want professional-grade backlink data and technical audits for free.

6. Google Analytics

Best for: Understanding user behavior on your site.

GA4 isn't an SEO tool per se, but understanding how people use your site is critical for SEO. Which pages get the most traffic? Where do people drop off? What's your bounce rate? How long do visitors spend reading?

This context helps you prioritize SEO efforts. If a page gets tons of impressions in Search Console but low engagement in Analytics, the content probably isn't matching search intent.

Limitations: GA4's interface is confusing compared to Universal Analytics. Privacy regulations may require consent banners. Setup requires adding a script to your site.

Who should use it: Everyone. Pair it with Search Console for the full picture.

7. AuditMySite

Best for: Quick, comprehensive SEO audits with actionable fixes.

Full disclosure — this is our tool. But here's why we built it: most SEO tools either overwhelm you with data or oversimplify everything. AuditMySite checks 50+ SEO factors across 7 categories — Technical SEO, On-Page, Content, Performance, Mobile, AI Content, and Accessibility — and gives you a score with specific fixes for every issue.

What's different: every issue comes with an AI prompt you can paste into ChatGPT to get a fix. No guessing what to do next. We also have an AI content checker, competitor comparison, and accessibility checker.

Limitations: We're newer than established tools. We check the page you give us, not your entire site's crawl history. No backlink data (use Ahrefs Webmaster Tools for that).

Who should use it: Anyone who wants a fast SEO audit without signing up for anything. Good for quick checks, client reports, or getting started with SEO.

8. Bing Webmaster Tools

Best for: SEO data from Bing (and free backlink data).

Most people ignore Bing, but Bing Webmaster Tools has a genuinely useful backlink checker that works for any domain — not just your own. It's one of the few free tools that lets you check competitor backlinks.

The tool also provides keyword research data, site scanning, and SEO reports. Since it imports data from Google Search Console, setup is quick if you already have GSC configured.

Limitations: Bing's search volume is much lower than Google's, so keyword data is less useful. Backlink data isn't as comprehensive as Ahrefs.

Who should use it: Anyone who wants free competitor backlink data. Set it up once and check it monthly.

9. Schema Markup Validator

Best for: Testing structured data / schema markup.

Google's Rich Results Test and Schema.org's validator check whether your structured data is valid and eligible for rich snippets in search results. Paste a URL or code snippet and see exactly what Google can parse.

Structured data is one of those things that doesn't directly boost rankings but can dramatically improve click-through rates by adding stars, prices, FAQs, and other rich elements to your search listing.

Limitations: Only validates structured data — doesn't help you create it. You need to know JSON-LD or use a plugin.

Who should use it: Anyone implementing structured data. Test before deploying.

10. Google Trends

Best for: Understanding search demand over time.

Google Trends doesn't give you exact search volumes, but it shows relative interest over time. This is incredibly useful for spotting seasonal trends, comparing keywords, and validating content ideas.

Example: if you're writing about "best running shoes," Trends will show you that searches peak in January (New Year's resolutions) and again in spring. Time your content accordingly.

Limitations: Relative data only — no absolute search volumes. Not useful for niche topics with low volume.

Who should use it: Content planners and anyone doing keyword research. Great for validating whether a topic is growing or dying.

How to Use These Tools Together

No single tool does everything. Here's a practical workflow using only free tools:

1. Google Search Console — Your home base. Check weekly for indexing errors, traffic drops, and keyword opportunities.
2. AuditMySite — Run your key pages through the scanner. Fix the critical issues first.
3. Screaming Frog — Monthly crawl to catch site-wide technical issues (broken links, missing tags, redirects).
4. Ahrefs Webmaster Tools — Check your backlink profile monthly. See which pages are earning links.
5. Google Trends + Ubersuggest — Research new content topics. Validate demand before writing.
6. PageSpeed Insights — Check Core Web Vitals after making changes. Make sure your fixes actually worked.
7. Google Analytics — Monitor the results. Are your changes leading to more traffic and engagement?

This stack costs $0 and covers keyword research, technical audits, performance monitoring, backlink analysis, and traffic tracking. It won't replace a full Ahrefs subscription for competitive analysis, but for most site owners, it's more than enough to grow organic traffic.

When to Upgrade to Paid Tools

Free tools have real limits. Consider paying when:

• You need competitor keyword and backlink analysis at scale (Ahrefs, Semrush)
• Your site has 500+ pages and you need full crawls with historical data (Screaming Frog paid, Sitebulb)
• You're an agency managing multiple client sites
• You need rank tracking across hundreds of keywords

But don't upgrade prematurely. Master the free tools first. Most SEO problems aren't about having better tools — they're about actually fixing the issues the tools find.

Bottom Line

The best SEO tool is the one you actually use. Start with Google Search Console and a quick audit of your site. Fix what's broken. Then layer in the other tools as you need them.

SEO isn't about having the most expensive toolset. It's about finding problems and fixing them, consistently, over time. These free tools give you everything you need to start.