Free SEO tools cover most routine tasks: checking backlinks, keyword research, technical audits and speed testing. Below are 25 proven services grouped by task, with notes on what the free version actually offers and how to use it in practice. This article gets updated: services change their limits, and some shut down.
Key points in 30 seconds
- Backlink analysis: a combination of Google Search Console + Ahrefs Webmaster Tools + a free backlink checker is enough for the basic picture.
- Keywords: ideas and search volumes come from Keyword Planner, Google Trends and Answer The Public.
- Technical audit: Search Console, Screaming Frog (up to 500 URLs) and Bing Webmaster Tools.
- Speed and Core Web Vitals: PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix, WebPageTest.
- Free versions have data limits: for in-depth analysis you need paid plans or a professional audit.
How to choose a free tool for the task
There is no single service that does everything: each one is strong in its own area. It makes more sense to build a set around five core tasks: links, keywords, technical SEO, speed and competitors. Free versions are almost always cut down (daily query limits, top 100 links instead of the full profile, volume ranges instead of exact numbers), so you need to understand where the data is enough to make a decision and where the “blind spot” begins. If you’re just getting into the topic, start with the basic article what is link building; it explains which metrics are worth tracking in the first place.
Backlink analysis tools
| Tool | What the free version does | Limits |
| Google Search Console | Links report: all backlinks to your site, anchors, top pages | Your own site only |
| Ahrefs Webmaster Tools | Full backlink profile and audit of a verified site | Your own sites only |
| Ahrefs Free Backlink Checker | Top 100 backlinks and DR for any domain | 100 links, no filters |
| Ubersuggest | Overview of a competitor’s backlinks and keywords | ~3 queries per day |
| OpenLinkProfiler | Fresh backlinks for any domain | Data isn’t always complete |
| Moz Link Explorer | DA, top links, anchors | 10 queries per month |
Quick how-to. Check your own profile in Search Console: the “Links” section → “Top linking sites” shows referring domains and the number of links. The fastest way to check someone else’s domain is Ahrefs Free Backlink Checker: paste the competitor’s address and you get their top 100 links with DR, which is enough to see where their authority comes from. A full breakdown of a competitor’s donors is covered in the article competitor backlink analysis.
Keyword and rank tracking tools
| Tool | What the free version does | Limits |
| Google Keyword Planner | Keyword ideas and search volumes | Volume ranges without active ads |
| Google Trends | Demand trends and seasonality, query comparison | Relative values, not absolute |
| Answer The Public | Questions and suggestions around a keyword | ~3 queries per day |
| AlsoAsked | Map of the People Also Ask box | Query limit |
| Ahrefs Keyword Generator | Keyword ideas and difficulty score | Top 100 ideas |
| Keyword Surfer | Search volumes right in Google results | Approximate figures |
Quick how-to. Build a base list in Keyword Planner, expand it with questions from Answer The Public and AlsoAsked, and check seasonality in Google Trends so you don’t invest in queries with falling demand. Keyword Surfer is handy to keep switched on: it shows search volume right under the search bar, without opening a separate service.
Technical audit tools
| Tool | What the free version does | Limits |
| Google Search Console | Indexing, errors, Core Web Vitals, sitemap | Your own site only |
| Screaming Frog SEO Spider | Site crawl: broken links, duplicates, meta tags, redirects | Up to 500 URLs |
| Bing Webmaster Tools | Bing indexing, audit, keywords | Bing data |
| Rich Results Test | Structured data and rich snippet testing | One URL at a time |
| Schema Markup Validator | Schema markup validation | |
| Sitebulb (trial) | Visual technical audit with priorities | Trial period |
Quick how-to. Start with Screaming Frog: download the app, enter your site’s address and wait for the crawl. The tabs will show broken links (4xx codes), duplicate titles and redirect chains. At the same time, check the “Page indexing” report in Search Console: it tells you which URLs aren’t indexed and why. How to set up and read GSC is covered in detail in the article setting up Google Search Console.
Speed and Core Web Vitals tools
| Tool | What the free version does | Limits |
| PageSpeed Insights | LCP, INP, CLS + a list of recommendations per URL | |
| GTmetrix | Loading waterfall, test history | One location for free |
| WebPageTest | Detailed loading breakdown, render video | Queue on free servers |
| Lighthouse (Chrome DevTools) | Speed and SEO audit right in the browser | Local test, depends on your machine |
Quick how-to. For a quick diagnosis, PageSpeed Insights is enough: paste a URL, check the scores for the three Core Web Vitals metrics and the “Diagnostics” section, which lists specific problems (heavy images, render-blocking JavaScript, layout shifts). For repeated tests with history, GTmetrix is more convenient.
Chrome extensions for SEO
A separate category: browser extensions that show SEO data right on the page, without opening other services. A minimal working set:
| Extension | What it’s for |
| Detailed SEO Extension | Meta tags, headings, links and page markup in one click |
| SEO Minion | On-page analysis, broken link check, SERP snippet preview |
| Ahrefs SEO Toolbar | Page metrics, response codes, broken links |
| MozBar | Domain DA/PA right in search results |
| Keyword Surfer | Search volumes inside Google |
| Wappalyzer | Detecting a site’s CMS and technologies |
| Redirect Path | Redirect chains and HTTP response codes |
Free Ahrefs limits: what you actually get
Ahrefs is one of the most accurate sources of backlink data, and some of its features are available without a subscription. Here is what you can use for free:
- Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (AWT) for your own verified sites: full backlink profile, technical audit, rank tracking and lost link monitoring.
- Free Backlink Checker: top 100 backlinks and Domain Rating for any domain.
- Keyword Generator and Keyword Difficulty Checker: keyword ideas and difficulty scores with a query limit.
- Broken Link Checker and SERP Checker: spot checks for broken links and search results.
The key limitation: for other people’s sites, only cut-down data is free (top 100 links without filters or history). Profile history, the full list of referring domains and advanced filters stay in the paid version. The logic is similar with Semrush: a free account gives you about 10 queries per day, including limited Backlink Analytics. That’s enough for a one-off check, but not for regular work.
A ready-made free stack: where to start
To avoid drowning in a list of 25 services, set up a minimal kit and add the rest as needed. A working order for a new site:
- Connect Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. This is the foundation: indexing, queries, errors and Core Web Vitals for your site.
- Verify your site in Ahrefs Webmaster Tools: you get a free audit and the full profile of your own backlinks.
- Run your site through Screaming Frog (up to 500 URLs) and fix technical errors: broken links, duplicates, redirects.
- Collect keywords in Keyword Planner and expand them with questions from Answer The Public.
- Test speed in PageSpeed Insights and keep Detailed SEO Extension in your browser for quick on-the-fly checks.
This stack is completely free and covers diagnostics, monitoring and basic optimization. After that, it’s either paid plans for more depth or handing the tasks to a contractor so you don’t spend time compiling reports by hand.
Limits of free versions and when you need a pro
Free tools are great for diagnostics and first steps, but they share a common ceiling: the data is truncated (top 100 links, 500 URLs per crawl, ranges instead of exact volumes), and there is no deep history or bulk processing. Once the checkers have flagged a problem (toxic donors, anchor overoptimization, an indexing drop), pulling it all into one picture and building a plan by hand gets hard. How to pick quality donors using 12 criteria is covered in the article how to check a site’s trust.
At this stage, it makes more sense to order a technical SEO audit: a specialist pulls data from paid sources, finds hidden problems and hands you a prioritized task list. And if the audit shows you lack backlinks, buying crowd links with manual placement on live sites helps strengthen your profile.
Want to know exactly what’s holding your site back in search, but don’t have time to compile a dozen reports by hand? Request an SEO audit: we will review your link profile, technical SEO and growth opportunities for your project and quote a price for your specific niche.
