Screaming Frog SEO Spider

Desktop technical SEO crawler that finds broken links, indexation mistakes, duplicates and site architecture problems.

Research-based score

4.6

Research-based score

Features and capabilities4.8

Deep technical crawl diagnostics, JS rendering, saved comparison, custom extraction, structured data, accessibility and API integrations.

Usability and implementation4.2

Comprehensive desktop interface and scheduling reward technical users; setup and large-crawl memory tuning add learning cost.

Pricing and value transparency4.8

Free 500-URL edition, clear annual license and quantity discounts, optional renewal and 14-day refund terms; per-user requirement.

Integrations, security and trust4.4

GA, GSC, PageSpeed, link-metrics, LLM APIs, OS support and vendor documentation; no independent crawl/security test.

Scored by Shikha Goyal

Quick facts

Vendor: Screaming Frog Ltd
Pricing model: Free desktop edition or named user licenses purchased for one year; volume discounts at five or more licenses; no monthly SaaS subscription
Plan pricing: Free for 500 URLs per crawl; paid $279 per user per year in USD (£199 per year in GBP); annual license, not monthly billing
Free plan: Yes — check limits
Free trial: Not confirmed
Last verified: 11/6/2026

About Screaming Frog SEO Spider

Screaming Frog SEO Spider is a locally installed website crawler for technical SEO audits, migrations and site diagnostics. Unlike keyword rank subscription suites, it inspects the pages, URLs and resources reached during a crawl to flag response codes, broken internal links, redirects, canonical and robots directives, metadata, hreflang, structured data, duplicate and near-duplicate content, internal links and site architecture. The software runs on Windows, macOS and Linux. Its permanent free edition crawls up to 500 URLs per crawl, but does not allow saving crawls and restricts more advanced configuration and integrations. A paid user license removes that software URL cap and unlocks scheduled crawls, JavaScript rendering, saved crawl data, custom extraction/search, crawl comparison, richer visualization and additional integrations with Google Analytics, Google Search Console, PageSpeed Insights and link metrics. The paid license lasts one year, typically costs £199 per user or the vendor’s posted USD price of $279 per user per year, and is purchased annually, not as a month-to-month SaaS subscription. The official USD volume pricing lowers to $265 per user for 5–9 licenses, $249 for 10–19, and $235 for 20 or more. Free and paid crawl breadth is still limited by allocated machine memory, disk, crawler configuration and the target site; paid does not promise literally infinite pages. Even paid crawls depend on workstation resources; license is per user per year and the product does not replace a full SEO competitive research suite.

Best for

Technical SEO specialists, developers, site migration teams and agencies crawling real websites to diagnose indexability, redirects, duplication, metadata and internal link issues.

Screaming Frog SEO Spider pros and cons

Pros

Permanent free download can crawl up to 500 URLs without registration or a subscription.
Deep desktop crawl diagnostics cover redirects, status codes, indexation, metadata, structured data, hreflang and duplication.
Annual per-user license is transparent, with USD and GBP regional prices and volume discounts.
Paid edition supports JavaScript rendering, scheduling, custom extraction, API data sources and saved crawl comparisons.
Official 14-day refund window and non-auto-renewing default reduce initial license purchasing risk.

Cons

−Free edition stops at 500 URLs per crawl and lacks saved crawls and many advanced settings.
−It is a desktop crawl tool, not a complete keyword research, backlink intelligence or daily rank suite.
−Large crawls can consume substantial memory/disk and require configuration skill.
−Every user needs a separate paid license; there are no shared-seat licenses.
−OpenAI/Gemini and some analytics/link data sources may involve separate external service costs or credentials.

Features

HTTP response status and broken link detection

Redirect chains and loops analysis

Custom XPath/CSS/regex extraction

Internal link graph and crawl depth

Hreflang attribute validation

Structured data extraction and validation

Google Search Console integration

H1/H2 and page metadata checks

XML sitemap and image sitemap generation

Canonical and indexability audits

Looker Studio crawl report

Advanced crawl configuration and memory modes

Google PageSpeed Insights integration

Exact duplicate and near-duplicate detection

Save and reopen crawls

Custom JavaScript and source code search

Site visualizations and internal link graphs

Meta robots and X-Robots-Tag directives

Accessibility audits

Forms-based authentication crawling

Crawl comparison and change analysis

Crawl scheduling and command-line automation

AI model APIs for crawl analysis

Spelling and grammar checks

JavaScript rendering with Chromium on paid licenses

Title tag and meta description auditing

Core Web Vitals-related diagnostics via API

Google Analytics integration

Platforms

Local CPU/RAM/storage crawl processingLinux desktopWindows desktopGoogle service/API integrations on paid licensesmacOS desktop

Integrations

Google Gemini API Google Looker Studio Majestic (link metrics via API) OpenAI API Ahrefs (link metrics via eligible API access) CSV and Excel export Google Analytics Google PageSpeed Insights Google Search Console Google Sheets through exports

Pricing — verified 11/6/2026

What you’ll actually pay

Free desktop edition

Free

USD 0.00/month with annual billing

Free download and use without sign-up; limit of 500 URLs per crawl, without saved crawls and with restricted advanced functions.

Paid SEO Spider (one named user) — most chosen

USD 23.25per month, billed annually

$279 prepaid per user per year in USD, equivalent to $23.25 per month for comparison only; no monthly subscription is offered. GBP option £199/year.

Paid SEO Spider (5–9 licenses)

USD 22.08per month, billed annually

$265 per person per year when buying 5–9 at once; $22.08 per month equivalent only.

Paid SEO Spider (10–19 licenses)

USD 20.75per month, billed annually

$249 per person per year when buying 10–19; $20.75/month equivalent only.

Paid SEO Spider (20+ licenses)

USD 19.58per month, billed annually

$235 per person per year for 20 or more; $19.58/month comparison equivalent only.

Visit Screaming Frog SEO Spider

Official pricing / availability source · Checked 5 November 2026. Confirm current taxes, regional terms and allowances. A listed plan is not necessarily the cheapest option.

Editorial verification: 11/6/2026. Check the vendor's site for current pricing.

Alternatives to Screaming Frog SEO Spider

Link Whisper

WordPress internal linking software for link suggestions, automated linking, link audits, and orphan-page discovery.

SE Ranking

Daily rank tracking, keyword and competitor research, audits, content tools and AI visibility for SEO teams.

Moz Pro

Accessible keyword, backlink, technical SEO and ranking research with emerging AI visibility features.

Ubersuggest

Affordable keyword research, website auditing, rank tracking and competitor SEO tools with subscription or lifetime access.

Screaming Frog SEO Spider — frequently asked questions

Is Screaming Frog SEO Spider free?

Yes. The downloadable free version can crawl 500 URLs per crawl and detect many basic SEO issues; saving crawls and advanced integrations/configuration require a paid license.

How much does Screaming Frog SEO Spider cost?

One paid user license costs $279 per year in vendor-posted USD or £199/year in GBP. Discounts start at five licenses: $265 for 5–9, $249 for 10–19 and $235 for 20 or more per user/year.

Can I pay monthly for the SEO Spider?

No. The vendor sells a one-year license; the $23.25/month figure is only $279 divided by 12 to aid comparison and is not a monthly payment option.

Does paid Screaming Frog have unlimited crawl capacity?

It removes the software’s 500-URL edition limit, but actual maximum depends on allocated RAM, disk, configuration and the target website.

Does Screaming Frog crawl JavaScript websites?

The licensed edition includes JavaScript rendering with embedded Chromium, letting it inspect many JS-rendered pages. It needs appropriate configuration and computing resources.

Does it integrate with Google Search Console and PageSpeed Insights?

Yes. The paid edition documents Google Search Console, Google Analytics and PageSpeed Insights connectors, as well as several link metric and optional AI APIs.

Will the paid license auto-renew, and can I get a refund?

Auto-renew is off by default. Licenses expire after one year unless renewed, then revert to free functions. A direct purchase can be refunded in full upon contacting the vendor within 14 days.

Has Toollers benchmarked Screaming Frog crawler accuracy?

No. This is research based on vendor documentation and G2 feedback; Toollers has not executed a test crawl, measured memory consumption or validated all issue rules.