It’s customary to associate search engine optimization (SEO) with the terms “hard” and “expensive.”
For the “hard” part, I share SEO tips from time to time to make it easier for you. And for the other part, “expensive,” you are about to discover the cheapest SEO tools to start and grow your blog.
This isn’t one of those posts that puts “cheapest” and “Semrush” (which costs at least $140 per month) in the same post.
I’m a fan of Semrush and have used the premium version in the past. But I’m frugal, and that’s why I scour the web for SEO tools that don’t cost an arm and still get the desired results.
I’ve made a list of the top 10 affordable SEO tools you need to try. Let’s get into it.
Table of Contents:
What to consider when looking for affordable SEO tools
Sometimes, getting cheap SEO software can mean acquiring ineffective tools.
To save money while improving your SEO efficiency, here are the factors to consider when choosing a cheap tool.
Simplicity
A good SEO tool should be intuitive and easy to use from day one or after a couple of tutorials.
After all, not everyone is a tech wizard.
I always look for clean interfaces, straightforward navigations, and helpful guides because the less time you spend figuring out the tool, the more time you have to improve your SEO.
Functionality
You don’t need a tool with a laundry list of features.
When a tool has too many features, it could become overwhelming to use—especially for beginners.
So, check if your chosen SEO tools have the “key features” you need.
As a business owner, you’ll want tools that offer solid keyword research, on-page SEO analysis, competitor insights, and website audits.
Bonus points if the tool integrates well with other tools you use regularly.
Accuracy
An affordable tool is only a good deal if its data is reliable.
I always cross-reference data from new tools with trusted sources and analytics tools at first.
Look out for tools that update their data regularly and provide correct research data.
Top 10 cheapest SEO tools for small businesses
- Ubersuggest
- KeySearch
- Mangools
- Keywords Everywhere
- Rank Math
- Frase
- Rank Tracker
- ChatGPT
- Claude AI
- QuillBot
Best cheap SEO tools for keyword research
The most popular keyword research tools, such as Ahrefs and Semrush, cost at least $129.
However, you can do accurate keyword research with way less, and below are the tools to make this possible:
1. Ubersuggest
Once you start using Ubersuggest, you won’t have to worry about your SEO strategy or how to find rankable keyword opportunities ever again.
It has a user-friendly interface that gives easy access to its site analysis and keyword research features. You can also track some search queries and create a list of keywords for which you can rank.
Ubersuggest seamlessly integrates with Google Analytics and Google Search Console with a few clicks.
In addition, this tool has an AI content writer that can generate quick outlines and first article drafts.
Features:
- Keyword rank tracking
- Rankable topic suggestions based on your blog summary
- Domain overview and traffic audit tool
- Top pages and backlink data
- Competitor analysis tool
Pricing: Ubersuggest starts at $12 per month. The best part? Each subscription package has a pay-once-for-lifetime-access offer that’s only 10x the price of the monthly subscription. For the individual package that starts at $12 per month, that’s $120 for a lifetime.
2. KeySearch
KeySearch is a comprehensive SEO tool with everything you need to find profitable keywords, analyze the competition, and measure your efforts.
This software tool comes with an AI content assistant and SEO auditor.
You can generate latent semantic index (LSI) keywords for blog posts, as well as Pinterest and YouTube keywords.
Keysearch’s interface is simple, and its results are accurate. It gives you access to the most essential features and metrics at a fraction of the cost of other tools.
Features:
- Keyword research and analytics
- LSI keyword generator
- Rank tracking and competitive analysis
- Live SERP analysis and backlink data
- Bulk SEO difficulty checker
Pricing: Keysearch plans start at $17 per month for the starter plan. You can save 17% and pay $169 if you make an annual subscription.
3. Mangools
Mangools is a comprehensive suite of five premium tools—KWFinder, SERPChecker, SERPWatcher, LinkMiner, and SiteProfiler.
Mangools has an intuitive user interface, and that makes it easy to use.
The premium SEO tools offer detailed insights regarding keyword ideas, internal links, backlink profiles, organic traffic, and search rankings. This makes Mangools a great choice for marketers on a limited budget looking for a versatile SEO toolset.
Features:
- Keyword research with KWFinder
- Results page analysis with SERPChecker
- Rank tracking with SERPWatcher
- Backlink analysis with LinkMiner
- Website SEO metrics with SiteProfiler
Pricing: Mangools plans start at $29.90 per month for the annual plan and $49 when you pay monthly.
4. Keywords Everywhere
Keywords Everywhere is a browser extension that provides keyword metrics—including long-tail keywords—and site profiles ranking for the specific keywords.
Just by searching a keyword, you can see valuable insights like search volume, trends, SEO difficulty, and competition directly on search engine results pages.
You can also see the domain score of ranking websites, how much traffic they get on the page and in total, and how many keywords they rank for in total.
Features:
- Keyword analysis, including search volume, CPC, SEO difficulty, and competition
- Historical data for discovering search trends.
- Bulk importation of keywords
- Site analysis of ranking pages
- Domain/web page analysis to see what keywords a site/URL is ranking for
Pricing: Keywords Everywhere uses a credit-based system starting at $2.25 per month for 100,000 annual credits, which is the bronze package.
Looking for a simple content calendar to streamline your SEO content process? Grab this Google Spreadsheet template.
Low-cost SEO tools for content optimization & analysis
Here are some cheap software tools to analyze your website performance and optimize your content for search engines.
5. Rank Math
This is another SEO tool for content optimization and website analytics, and Rank Math works best as a WordPress plugin.
It simplifies SEO for your website, offering various analytics and optimization tools. You can track traffic, its sources, and blog post SEO scores.
Rank Math imports data from Google Analytics and gives you instant access to the summary directly within your website dashboard.
Features:
- SEO analysis
- Keyword optimization
- Schema markup
- One-click instant indexing
- Redirect manager
Pricing: Rank Math offers a free version with robust features, while the premium plans start at $6.99 per month.
6. Frase
Frase is a content analysis and optimization tool.
If you want to rank on the SERP, your content needs a good SEO score.
Frase helps you research, write, and optimize content based on search intent and analysis of current ranking articles. It ensures your content meets user needs and helps you rank well on search engines.
Features:
- Keyword research
- Content brief creation
- SERP analysis
- Content SEO
- AI content generator
Pricing: Frase plans start at $15 per month to optimize 10 blog posts.
7. Ranktracker
Ranktracker offers comprehensive rank tracking and keyword research capabilities.
This SEO tool provides detailed insights about your website’s SEO—from search engine rankings to keyword opportunities, technical SEO audits, and competitor analysis.
It integrates with Google Analytics and the Search Console to extract and compare your rankings and organic traffic.
Features:
- Keyword tracking and research
- Rank tracker
- Competitor analysis
- Backlink checker and monitor
- Website audit tool
Pricing: Ranktracker’s plan starts at $24 per month, which costs $16.80 for the annual plan.
Affordable SEO tools for content creation
SEO isn’t just about keyword research and content optimization. “Content quality” is just as important.
Here are three content creation tools that are worth their salt.
8. ChatGPT
ChatGPT is an AI software that works for different purposes, including image generation, coding, research, strategy, and writing.
As a business owner with a long to-do list, you want solutions to maximize productivity within a limited timeframe.
That’s where ChatGPT comes in.
It assists with creating useful outlines and first drafts for your blog content. However, the quality of its output depends on your prompts.
Features:
- Blog outline and content creation
- Surface-level SEO suggestions, including meta description generation
- Image generation
- Topic research
- Answering SEO queries
Pricing: ChatGPT offers a very generous free tier. However, its premium plan costs $20 per month for more advanced features.
9. Claude.ai
Claude is a relatively new and definitely impressive AI-powered content creation tool.
Like ChatGPT, you can research keywords, generate outlines, write blog post drafts, and analyze images with this SEO tool.
The chat style of this tool isn’t just good…
It’s mind-blowing. It’d almost feel like you’re having a conversation with a real-life assistant helping you with your blog tasks.
Features:
- Blog brief & outline generation
- Content writing
- Image analysis
- Surface-level SEO suggestions
- Topic research
Pricing: Claude’s free plan is cool, and its premium plans start at $20 per month.
10. QuillBot
QuillBot is an AI-powered editing tool to enhance your content and improve readability.
It is a more cost-effective alternative to Grammarly, and it refines your content and gives accurate suggestions.
It integrates automatically with Google Docs and other writing-supported apps.
Features:
- Grammar checking and suggestions
- Paraphrasing tool
- Plagiarism detection
- AI content detection
- Citation generation
Pricing: QuillBot offers a free version with limited features, while the premium plans start at $9.95 per month.
Using the cheapest SEO tools
Finding the right SEO tools on a budget doesn’t have to be a challenge.
The tools outlined in this guide offer a range of features at affordable prices, making them perfect for business owners looking to enhance their SEO efforts without overspending.
Whether you need keyword research, content optimization, or site auditing, these tools provide powerful capabilities to help you achieve your SEO goals.
