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Side-by-side comparison · SEO & Analytics

Frase 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.

Frase

4.0

From $49/mo

Screaming Frog SEO Spider

4.0

From £199/user/yr

Semrush

3.9

From $139/mo

Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.

At a glance

Easiest to use

Pick it if: Small marketing teams, freelancers and agencies who write SEO content and want research, briefs and drafts in one place.

Best value

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

AttributeFraseScreaming Frog SEO SpiderSemrush
In one lineResearches, briefs and drafts SEO articles, and tracks if AI search cites 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 modelPaidFreemiumFreemium
Starting price$49/mo£199/user/yr$139/mo
Free plan No Yes Yes
Works with Claude Code Yes Yes Yes

Rating breakdown

Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.

AttributeFraseScreaming Frog SEO SpiderSemrush
Overall rating4.04.03.9
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
4.0
2.5
3.5
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
4.5
4.5
5.0
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.
3.5
4.5
4.0
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.
4.0
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.

AttributeFraseScreaming Frog SEO SpiderSemrush
Access & platform
Free plan No Yes Yes
Mobile app– No Yes
Desktop app– Yes No
Browser extension– No Yes
API access Yes 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 Yes No No
Learns your brand or style Yes No–
Works in many languages Yes Yes Yes
Capabilities score7/ 175/ 179/ 17

Pricing

Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.

AttributeFraseScreaming Frog SEO SpiderSemrush
Plans

Starter

$49/mo, or $39/mo billed yearly

One person writing a few articles a month.

Free

Free

Small sites and one-off checks.

Free

Free

A quick look before you commit.

ProfessionalOur pick

$129/mo, or $103/mo billed yearly

Small teams publishing weekly.

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.

Scale

$299/mo, or $239/mo billed yearly

Agencies running several sites.

StarterOur pick

$199/mo, or $165.17/mo billed yearly

Marketers who want SEO plus AI visibility and the Claude connection.

Enterprise

Custom

Large teams needing white-label and SSO.

Pro+

$299/mo, or $248.17/mo billed yearly

Agencies managing several clients.

Advanced

Custom

Large teams and enterprise accounts.

Which plan to pickProfessional 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.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

AttributeFraseScreaming Frog SEO SpiderSemrush
Standout features
  • SERP research and briefs
  • AI drafting in your voice
  • Content scoring
  • Content Guard
  • AI visibility tracking
  • API, MCP and CLI
  • Full site crawl
  • JavaScript rendering
  • Google integrations
  • AI during crawl
  • Crawl comparison
  • Scheduling and command line
  • Domain Overview
  • Keyword Gap
  • Advertising Research
  • AI Search tracking
  • Position Tracking
  • Semrush MCP

Pros and cons

AttributeFraseScreaming Frog SEO SpiderSemrush
Pros
  • Fast, thorough content briefs
  • Cheaper than Clearscope and Surfer at the entry level
  • Covers Google and AI search in one tool
  • API, MCP and CLI on every plan
  • The most complete technical crawl available
  • Free version includes every feature up to 500 pages
  • Crawl comparison makes migrations far safer
  • Connects to Google data and AI models during the crawl
  • Runs on your own computer, so your data stays with you
  • Organic and paid search research in one subscription
  • The best Google Ads competitor data of the big suites
  • Strong local SEO and listings tools
  • AI visibility tracking built into the main plans
  • Official MCP connection for Claude
Cons
  • AI drafts need editing to sound human and be accurate
  • Starter limits are tight
  • Rebuilt in 2026, so the newer features have little track record
  • Past complaints about slow replies on billing issues
  • Dated interface that assumes you know technical SEO terms
  • Desktop only, and big crawls need a lot of memory
  • No cloud dashboard or scheduled reports for clients
  • One licence per user adds up for a team
  • Cluttered interface with a steep learning curve
  • Expensive, and add-ons and extra users push the bill up fast
  • The free account is too limited to do real work
  • Backlink data is a step behind Ahrefs
  • Plan names and bundles change often, which makes comparing hard

Who each one is for

AttributeFraseScreaming Frog SEO SpiderSemrush
Best for
  • Building SEO content briefs fast
  • Drafting articles from a brief
  • Answering the questions searchers ask
  • Tracking citations in AI search
  • Finding broken links
  • Checking redirects after a migration
  • Auditing titles and headings
  • Exporting a full page list
  • Competitor Google Ads research
  • Keyword gap reports
  • Content briefs
  • Local listings management
You'll find it used by
  • Content marketers
  • SEO freelancers
  • Agencies
  • Small business owners
  • B2B software teams
  • Technical SEOs
  • Agencies
  • Developers
  • Web designers
  • Agencies
  • Performance marketers
  • In-house SEO teams
  • Content marketers

Questions people ask

Which is better, Frase, Screaming Frog SEO Spider or Semrush?

They tie on our overall rating (Frase 4.0/5, Screaming Frog SEO Spider 4.0/5 and Semrush 3.9/5). Frase is best for Building SEO content briefs fast and drafting articles from a brief. 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, Frase, Screaming Frog SEO Spider or Semrush?

Frase: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $49/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, Frase, Screaming Frog SEO Spider or Semrush?

Frase rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Small marketing teams, freelancers and agencies who write SEO content and want research, briefs and drafts in one place.

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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