Side-by-side comparison · SEO & Analytics
Google Search Console vs Screaming Frog SEO Spider vs Similarweb
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 with a website. There's no reason not to set it up.
Pick it if: Anyone who needs a thorough technical check of a site, especially before or after a redesign or migration.
Pick it if: Marketers, founders and analysts who want to size up competitors and markets from the outside.
Overview
| Attribute | Google Search Console | Screaming Frog SEO Spider | Similarweb |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Google's free report on how your site shows up in search, AI results included. | Crawls your whole site the way Google does and lists what's broken. | See roughly how much traffic any website gets and where it comes from. |
| Pricing model | Free | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | Free | £199/user/yr | About $125/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | Yes | No |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Google Search Console | Screaming Frog SEO Spider | Similarweb |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.7 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.0 | 2.5 | 4.0 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 3.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.5 | 4.5 | 3.5 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 5.0 | 4.5 | 2.5 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Google Search Console | Screaming Frog SEO Spider | Similarweb |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | No | No | – |
| Desktop app | No | Yes | – |
| Browser extension | No | No | Yes |
| API access | Yes | No | Yes |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | No | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | No | No | Yes |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | No | No |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | No | Yes | – |
| Understands images | No | No | – |
| Makes images | No | No | – |
| Makes video | No | No | – |
| Writes code | No | No | – |
| Runs agents or automations | No | No | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | No | No | – |
| Works in many languages | Yes | Yes | No |
| Capabilities score | 5/ 17 | 5/ 17 | 7/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Google Search Console | Screaming Frog SEO Spider | Similarweb |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | FreeOur pick Free Every website owner, with no exceptions. | Free Free Small sites and one-off checks. | Free Free Quick checks on a big competitor. |
Paid licenceOur pick £199/user/yr Agencies and anyone with a site over 500 pages. | StarterOur pick About $125/mo billed yearly, $149 monthly A founder or marketer tracking a handful of competitors. | ||
Business packages Custom, yearly contract Teams that need SEO, ads or AI search data at depth. | |||
| Which plan to pick | There's only one plan and it costs nothing. Verify every site you own, including subdomains, and add your marketing person or agency as a user so they can see the data too. | 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. | Use the free lookups first; for most small businesses they answer the question. Pay for Starter only if you check competitors every month, and get a quote before committing to a yearly package. |
Key features
| Attribute | Google Search Console | Screaming Frog SEO Spider | Similarweb |
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | Google Search Console | Screaming Frog SEO Spider | Similarweb |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Google Search Console | Screaming Frog SEO Spider | Similarweb |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, Google Search Console, Screaming Frog SEO Spider or Similarweb?
They tie on our overall rating (Google Search Console 4.0/5, Screaming Frog SEO Spider 4.0/5 and Similarweb 3.7/5). Google Search Console is best for seeing which searches bring visitors and finding indexing problems. Screaming Frog SEO Spider is best for finding broken links and checking redirects after a migration. Similarweb is best for checking a competitor's traffic and channels and sizing up a market before you launch.
Which is cheaper, Google Search Console, Screaming Frog SEO Spider or Similarweb?
Google Search Console: It's free to use. Screaming Frog SEO Spider: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at £199/user/yr. Similarweb: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at About $125/mo.
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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