Side-by-side comparison · SEO & Analytics
DataForSEO vs Frase vs Surfer
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: Anyone using Claude Code or building their own tools who wants real SEO data without a big monthly plan.
Pick it if: Small marketing teams, freelancers and agencies who write SEO content and want research, briefs and drafts in one place.
Pick it if: Content marketers and bloggers who publish regularly and want each page to have a fair shot at ranking.
Overview
| Attribute | DataForSEO | Frase | Surfer |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Raw search, keyword and backlink data you pay for by the query, built for AI agents. | Researches, briefs and drafts SEO articles, and tracks if AI search cites you. | Tells you what to add to a page so it can rank for a chosen keyword. |
| Pricing model | Paid | Paid | Paid |
| Starting price | From $50 top-up | $49/mo | $49/mo |
| Free plan | No | No | No |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | DataForSEO | Frase | Surfer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.9 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 2.5 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.0 | 4.5 | 3.5 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 5.0 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | DataForSEO | Frase | Surfer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | No | No | No |
| Mobile app | No | – | No |
| Desktop app | No | – | No |
| Browser extension | No | – | Yes |
| API access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | – | Yes | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | No | Yes | Yes |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | No | No |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | No | – | – |
| Understands images | No | – | No |
| Makes images | No | No | – |
| Makes video | No | No | No |
| Writes code | No | No | No |
| Runs agents or automations | No | Yes | No |
| Learns your brand or style | No | Yes | Yes |
| Works in many languages | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 3/ 17 | 7/ 17 | 7/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | DataForSEO | Frase | Surfer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Pay as you goOur pick From $50 top-up Anyone who wants real data in Claude Code without a subscription. | Starter $49/mo, or $39/mo billed yearly One person writing a few articles a month. | Discovery $49/mo billed yearly A solo blogger publishing a couple of posts a week. |
ProfessionalOur pick $129/mo, or $103/mo billed yearly Small teams publishing weekly. | AI Search Analytics $82/mo billed yearly Brands that only want to track their AI visibility. | ||
Scale $299/mo, or $239/mo billed yearly Agencies running several sites. | StandardOur pick $99/mo billed yearly A small content team publishing weekly. | ||
Enterprise Custom Large teams needing white-label and SSO. | Pro $182/mo billed yearly Agencies managing content for several brands. | ||
Peace of Mind $299/mo billed yearly High-volume publishers who want no limits. | |||
Enterprise Custom Large organisations with security requirements. | |||
| Which plan to pick | There's only one way to pay. Use the $1 trial credit to test the MCP server, then top up $50 and set a daily limit of a dollar or two. Use the cheaper standard queue for bulk jobs and the live mode only when you need an answer now. | Professional is the plan most teams settle on, because Starter's 10 articles a month runs out quickly. Try the 7-day trial on two or three real articles before paying. | Discovery is enough if you publish a couple of posts a week. Standard is the sensible pick for a team because it adds collaboration and triples the document count. The prices shown are for yearly billing; Surfer says monthly billing costs up to 17 percent more. |
Key features
| Attribute | DataForSEO | Frase | Surfer |
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Pros and cons
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | DataForSEO | Frase | Surfer |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, DataForSEO, Frase or Surfer?
They tie on our overall rating (DataForSEO 4.0/5, Frase 4.0/5 and Surfer 3.9/5). DataForSEO is best for SEO research from Claude Code and keyword volumes on demand. Frase is best for Building SEO content briefs fast and drafting articles from a brief. Surfer is best for optimising blog posts and content briefs for writers.
Which is cheaper, DataForSEO, Frase or Surfer?
DataForSEO: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at From $50 top-up. Frase: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $49/mo. Surfer: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $49/mo.
Which is easier to use, DataForSEO, Frase or Surfer?
Surfer rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Content marketers and bloggers who publish regularly and want each page to have a fair shot at ranking.
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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