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Side-by-side comparison · SEO & Analytics

Microsoft Clarity 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.

Best overall

Microsoft Clarity

4.3

Free to start

Screaming Frog SEO Spider

4.0

From £199/user/yr

Similarweb

3.7

From About $125/mo

Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.

At a glance

Best overallBest valueEasiest to use

Pick it if: Store owners and marketers who want to know why visitors aren't converting, without paying for it.

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

AttributeMicrosoft ClarityScreaming Frog SEO SpiderSimilarweb
In one lineFree heatmaps and session replays that show where visitors get stuck.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 modelFreeFreemiumFreemium
Starting priceFree£199/user/yrAbout $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.

AttributeMicrosoft ClarityScreaming Frog SEO SpiderSimilarweb
Overall rating4.3Winner4.03.7
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
4.5
2.5
4.0
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
4.0
4.5
4.5
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.
4.0
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.
4.0
4.0
4.0

Feature comparison

A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.

AttributeMicrosoft ClarityScreaming Frog SEO SpiderSimilarweb
Access & platform
Free plan Yes Yes Yes
Mobile app– 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 Yes
Learns your brand or style No No–
Works in many languages Yes Yes No
Capabilities score5/ 175/ 177/ 17

Pricing

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

AttributeMicrosoft ClarityScreaming Frog SEO SpiderSimilarweb
Plans

FreeOur pick

Free

Every website and online store.

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 pickThere's one plan and it's free. Microsoft says it's free forever with no traffic limits. Install the tag through Shopify, WordPress or Google Tag Manager and it starts recording within minutes.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

AttributeMicrosoft ClarityScreaming Frog SEO SpiderSimilarweb
Standout features
  • Session recordings
  • Heatmaps
  • Copilot
  • Smart events and funnels
  • AI visibility
  • MCP server
  • Full site crawl
  • JavaScript rendering
  • Google integrations
  • AI during crawl
  • Crawl comparison
  • Scheduling and command line
  • Website traffic
  • Traffic channels
  • Referral sources
  • Keyword and ad research
  • AI traffic and visibility
  • AI agents and AI Studio

Pros and cons

AttributeMicrosoft ClarityScreaming Frog SEO SpiderSimilarweb
Pros
  • Completely free with no traffic or team limits
  • Session replays and heatmaps that match the paid tools
  • Copilot turns piles of recordings into plain findings
  • Easy installs for Shopify, WordPress and Tag Manager
  • MCP server for Claude
  • 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
  • The quickest way to see any website's traffic and channel mix
  • Useful free lookups for large sites
  • Covers markets and competitors, not just SEO
  • Adds AI search traffic and visibility data
Cons
  • Your visitor data goes to Microsoft, which some businesses won't accept
  • Recordings keep for 30 days, so you can't go back far
  • The interface is rougher than Hotjar and filters take some learning
  • Can slow a page slightly if it's already heavy with scripts
  • 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
  • Estimates are unreliable for small, local sites
  • Expensive beyond Starter, with prices only from sales
  • Higher packages need yearly contracts
  • Overlaps with Semrush and Ahrefs if you already pay for one

Who each one is for

AttributeMicrosoft ClarityScreaming Frog SEO SpiderSimilarweb
Best for
  • Finding checkout drop-offs
  • Watching real user sessions
  • Scroll and click heatmaps
  • Spotting broken buttons
  • Finding broken links
  • Checking redirects after a migration
  • Auditing titles and headings
  • Exporting a full page list
  • Checking a competitor's traffic and channels
  • Sizing up a market before you launch
  • Benchmarking your traffic share
  • Finding sites that send traffic to competitors
You'll find it used by
  • Store owners
  • Marketers
  • Product teams
  • Agencies
  • Technical SEOs
  • Agencies
  • Developers
  • Web designers
  • Marketers
  • Founders
  • Market researchers
  • Investors
  • E-commerce brands

Questions people ask

Which is better, Microsoft Clarity, Screaming Frog SEO Spider or Similarweb?

Microsoft Clarity scores highest overall in our ratings (Microsoft Clarity 4.3/5, Screaming Frog SEO Spider 4.0/5 and Similarweb 3.7/5). Microsoft Clarity is best for finding checkout drop-offs and watching real user sessions. 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, Microsoft Clarity, Screaming Frog SEO Spider or Similarweb?

Microsoft Clarity: 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.

Which is easier to use, Microsoft Clarity, Screaming Frog SEO Spider or Similarweb?

Microsoft Clarity rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Store owners and marketers who want to know why visitors aren't converting, without paying for it.

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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