Side-by-side comparison · SEO & Analytics
Clearscope vs Screaming Frog SEO Spider vs Semrush
Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
Pick it if: Content teams and agencies publishing SEO articles every week who want writers to hit a clear quality bar.
Pick it if: Anyone who needs a thorough technical check of a site, especially before or after a redesign or migration.
Pick it if: Agencies and marketers who do both search ads and SEO and want one subscription for both.
Overview
| Attribute | Clearscope | Screaming Frog SEO Spider | Semrush |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Grades your content against what ranks and tracks whether AI search mentions you. | Crawls your whole site the way Google does and lists what's broken. | Keyword, competitor and ad research with a bigger toolbox and a bigger bill. |
| Pricing model | Paid | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | $129/mo | £199/user/yr | $139/mo |
| Free plan | No | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | No | Yes | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Clearscope | Screaming Frog SEO Spider | Semrush |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 3.9 | 4.0Winner | 3.9 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.5 | 2.5 | 3.5 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.0 | 4.5 | 5.0 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.0 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 2.5 | 4.5 | 3.0 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Clearscope | Screaming Frog SEO Spider | Semrush |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | No | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | – | No | Yes |
| Desktop app | – | Yes | No |
| Browser extension | No | No | Yes |
| API access | – | No | Yes |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | No | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | No | Yes |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | No | No |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | – | Yes | Yes |
| Understands images | – | No | No |
| Makes images | No | No | No |
| Makes video | No | No | No |
| Writes code | No | No | No |
| Runs agents or automations | – | No | No |
| Learns your brand or style | – | No | – |
| Works in many languages | – | Yes | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 3/ 17 | 5/ 17 | 9/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Clearscope | Screaming Frog SEO Spider | Semrush |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | EssentialsOur pick $129/mo Small content teams publishing weekly. | Free Free Small sites and one-off checks. | Free Free A quick look before you commit. |
Business $399/mo Larger teams and agencies. | Paid licenceOur pick £199/user/yr Agencies and anyone with a site over 500 pages. | SEO $139/mo, or $117.33/mo billed yearly A business that wants classic SEO research without the AI extras. | |
Enterprise Custom Big publishers with security needs. | StarterOur pick $199/mo, or $165.17/mo billed yearly Marketers who want SEO plus AI visibility and the Claude connection. | ||
Pro+ $299/mo, or $248.17/mo billed yearly Agencies managing several clients. | |||
Advanced Custom Large teams and enterprise accounts. | |||
| Which plan to pick | Essentials is enough for most teams; buy extra pages or drafts as add-ons before jumping to Business. Use the 14-day trial on real articles to see if the grades change your results. | The free version is enough for most small businesses because it includes every feature and only caps the crawl at 500 pages. Buy a licence when your site or your clients' sites go past that. The price is listed in pounds with dollar and euro options at checkout. | The free account is only good for a look around. If you want the Claude connection and AI visibility tracking, Starter is the one; the SEO plan is cheaper but leaves both out. Budget for extra users too, which start at $45 a month each. |
Key features
| Attribute | Clearscope | Screaming Frog SEO Spider | Semrush |
|---|---|---|---|
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | Clearscope | Screaming Frog SEO Spider | Semrush |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Clearscope | Screaming Frog SEO Spider | Semrush |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, Clearscope, Screaming Frog SEO Spider or Semrush?
Screaming Frog SEO Spider scores highest overall in our ratings (Clearscope 3.9/5, Screaming Frog SEO Spider 4.0/5 and Semrush 3.9/5). Clearscope is best for making sure articles cover a topic fully and keeping a team of writers consistent. Screaming Frog SEO Spider is best for finding broken links and checking redirects after a migration. Semrush is best for Competitor Google Ads research and keyword gap reports.
Which is cheaper, Clearscope, Screaming Frog SEO Spider or Semrush?
Clearscope: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $129/mo. Screaming Frog SEO Spider: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at £199/user/yr. Semrush: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $139/mo.
Which is easier to use, Clearscope, Screaming Frog SEO Spider or Semrush?
Clearscope rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Content teams and agencies publishing SEO articles every week who want writers to hit a clear quality bar.
How we compare
Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.
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