Does Ahrefs or Screaming Frog SEO Spider have a free plan?

Both do. Ahrefs and Screaming Frog SEO Spider each offer a free tier, so you can try either without paying.

Ahrefs vs Screaming Frog SEO Spider

A side-by-side look at Ahrefs and Screaming Frog SEO Spider: what each costs to start, whether there is a free plan, how easy they are to pick up, and which features and integrations they cover.

Which should you choose?

Choose Ahrefs if

Link builders and digital PR teams
SEO professionals who prioritize data quality over breadth
Content teams researching topics across multiple search engines

Visit Ahrefs

Choose Screaming Frog SEO Spider if

Technical SEO audits of a site's structure, links and metadata
Freelancers and agencies auditing client sites
Small site owners who can audit within 500 URLs for free

Visit Screaming Frog SEO Spider

Cheapest to start

Not comparable

Free plan

Ahrefs, Screaming Frog SEO Spider

Highest editor rating

Ahrefs · 4.6

Key differences

Listed for Ahrefs but not Screaming Frog SEO Spider: AI assistant, API access, Backlink analysis, Browser extension, Competitor analysis and 5 more.
Listed for Screaming Frog SEO Spider but not Ahrefs: Desktop app.
Only Ahrefs lists Web, Browser extension and API among its platforms.
Only Screaming Frog SEO Spider lists Windows, macOS and Linux among its platforms.
Screaming Frog SEO Spider prices its entry plan per user; Ahrefs charges per account, so team size changes the comparison.

Comparison of Ahrefs and Screaming Frog SEO Spider
Compare	Ahrefs Visit site	Screaming Frog SEO Spider Visit site
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Free trial	No	No
Starting price	From $29/mo	Free plan
Editor rating	4.6	Not yet rated
Ease of use	Moderate (3/5)	—
Category	SEO	SEO
Pricing model	Ahrefs Free gives data on sites you verify. Paid plans billed monthly: Starter $29, Lite $129, Standard $249 and Advanced $449, with Enterprise at $1,499 on an annual commitment. Annual billing saves up to 17 percent. API and MCP access are included on Lite and above; there is no free trial.	Free for up to 500 URLs per crawl. A paid licence is £199 per user per year and adds unlimited crawling and the advanced features; volume pricing is £189 per licence for 5–9, £179 for 10–19 and £169 for 20 or more. The pricing page also lists €199 per year.
Plans	Ahrefs Free — Free Starter — $29/mo Lite — $129/mo Standard — $249/mo Advanced — $449/mo	Free — Free Licence — £199/user/yr
Platforms	Web, Browser extension, API	Windows, macOS, Linux
Integrations	Google Analytics	Google Analytics
Best for	Link builders and digital PR teams SEO professionals who prioritize data quality over breadth Content teams researching topics across multiple search engines	Technical SEO audits of a site's structure, links and metadata Freelancers and agencies auditing client sites Small site owners who can audit within 500 URLs for free
Pros	Backlink index widely regarded as the most complete and freshest in the market Fast, consistent interface across Site Explorer, Keywords Explorer and Site Audit Keywords Explorer covers Google plus YouTube, Amazon, Bing and other engines Free Ahrefs Free tier for your own verified sites High-quality free educational content	Free version crawls up to 500 URLs per crawl Runs on Windows, macOS and Linux Finds broken links, redirects, duplicate pages and metadata issues in one crawl Generates XML sitemaps from a crawl
Cons	Credit-based usage limits on lower tiers can run out quickly No free trial Additional users are paid add-ons on most plans Fewer adjacent features than Semrush (no social or PPC management)	Crawls beyond 500 URLs and the advanced features need a paid licence Technical crawling only: no keyword database, rank tracking or backlink index of its own A desktop application, so crawls run on your own machine rather than in the cloud Priced per user per year, with no monthly option on the pricing page
AI assistant	Yes	No
API access	Yes	No
Backlink analysis	Yes	No
Browser extension	Yes	No
Competitor analysis	Yes	No
Content optimization	Yes	No
Desktop app	No	Yes
Keyword research	Yes	No
Rank tracking	Yes	No
Reporting & dashboards	Yes	No
Roles & permissions	Yes	No
Site audit	Yes	Yes

Common questions

Does Ahrefs or Screaming Frog SEO Spider have a free plan?: Both do. Ahrefs and Screaming Frog SEO Spider each offer a free tier, so you can try either without paying.

Ahrefs vs Screaming Frog SEO Spider

Which should you choose?

Key differences

Common questions

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Which should you choose?

Key differences

Common questions

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