Screaming Frog has consistently ranked among the top technical SEO auditing tools. Its powerful SEO spider empowers SEO managers to efficiently pinpoint technical and on-page SEO issues. The tool’s versatility and accuracy in uncovering a wide spectrum of technical SEO errors explain its widespread adoption.
Despite its strengths, Screaming Frog isn’t perfect. Its limitations, such as its crawl limit and computer-based processing system, often lead SEO managers to seek similar SEO crawling and audit tools.
Luckily, there are some Screaming Frog alternatives to choose from, with various functions and price categories. We’ll compare the 10 best Screaming Frog alternative tools to help you make informed decisions.
🔍 Want to boost your SEO? Download the free technical SEO guide to crawl budget optimization and learn how to improve your site’s visibility on search engines.
What Screaming Frog Does Well
Screaming Frog excels as a technical SEO auditing tool, leveraging its powerful spiders (website crawlers) to detect technical and certain on-page SEO issues.
For example, it can analyze missing metadata, broken links, duplicate or thin content (to prevent soft 404 errors), and poor URL structure. Each finding includes the URL’s HTTP status code, allowing you to identify and fix errors effectively.
As for its price, Screaming Frog offers a forever-free plan (up to 500 crawled URLs) and a paid plan. The paid option unlocks more advanced crawling and SEO error detection functionalities, such as a crawl scheduler, JavaScript rendering capabilities, and near-duplicate content detection.
This combination of powerful SEO spiders, comprehensive SEO analysis features, and an accessible free tier has made Screaming Frog a preferred SEO audit solution for numerous SEO professionals and agencies.
Screaming Frog‘s Limitations: Common Use Cases It Misses
While Screaming Frog is widely regarded as the industry-standard web crawler, its functional limitations mean it isn’t universally favored among SEO professionals.
For example, its desktop-based operation can slow down a computer during site crawls, and its site crawl efficiency can be hampered by low computer specifications.
Some users also claim that Screaming Frog’s SEO spiders aren’t powerful enough to crawl extremely large websites (with thousands of URLs). They often run into errors, interrupting the SEO site review process.
Additionally, the free plan’s 500-URL crawl limit is also quickly reached. Once you cross that threshold, you have to switch to a paid plan to continue, which can strain those with a small budget.
Key Features to Look for in a Screaming Frog Alternative
Based on the pros, cons, and limitations of Screaming Frog, here are some must-have features for the top Screaming Frog alternative tools:
- Cloud crawling
Prioritize SEO auditing and crawling tools that run on the cloud, instead of your computer system. - Scalability for increased crawl needs
Find a Screaming Frog alternative tool that can handle crawling increases as your website and business grow. - Crawl scheduling
Running an automated, regular site crawling ensures that no SEO issues are left undetected and untreated. Your site will always in their top SEO and AI SEO performance. - API integrations
Look for solutions that offer easy and rich integration with other SEO tools, such as Google Search Console, Google Analytics, and more, to ensure all your SEO optimization strategies are aligned.
Best Free Alternatives Tools To Screaming Frog
Some options on this comparison list of Screaming Frog alternatives may be completely free for life, while others are only free for a limited time. Either way, you can try these tools before making a long-term commitment.
1. Prerender.io
Prerender.io may not be a dedicated web crawler tool like Screaming Frog. In fact, its main strength is fixing the poor crawl and indexing performance of JavaScript websites. However, since Prerender.io also includes technical SEO scoring, 404 checker analysis, crawl and render analytics, and page error reports, It is a great contender to be included in the Screaming Frog alternative list.
The best news is that you can enjoy all the above-mentioned technical SEO auditing services for FREE! Take a look at Prerender.io’s complete features and how It works to increase your website’s visibility on SERPs.
Pro tip: Why choose only Screaming Frog or Prerender.io to improve your website’s technical SEO performance? Combine this dynamic duo for a more powerful impact!
Learn more about how Prerender.io is compared to Screaming Frog in this comparison page.
Pros of Prerender.io
- Effective for large-scale JavaScript-based websites
- Built-in technical SEO scoring and 404 error checker
- Crawl and render analytics
Cons of Prerender.io
- Focus on content rendering and identifying specific issues related to crawling and indexing problems.
2. Xenu’s Link Sleuth
Xenu’s Link Sleuth is an affordable and hassle-free alternative to Screaming Frog. It is a simple program that does not give users many options, but can help scan a website.
You won’t get a range of features or a dashboard, but after providing the tool with your domain name, it will start working.
Once you have added the domain, this tool will provide an organized list of all the links on your page, along with their status. You can review all the important site fields with this tool, such as server status code, type of link, page size, meta title of the link, and more.
This tool is updated regularly and supports SSL pages. It can detect and report redirects, but not much more. It cannot be used for in-depth inspection.
Since this tool is free, it can be a great tool in your arsenal for checking links and their status on your website.
If you are looking for a simple tool to improve your site links, Xenu Link Sleuth might be an ideal option. However, if you want more features, consider other free or paid options on this list.
Pros
- Easy-to-use tool
- Key site field review
- Redirect link detection
Cons
- Limited features
- Best for medium-sized SEO crawling
3. Scrutiny
Scrutiny is a Mac program that is a perfect Screaming Frog alternative for Mac users.
This app is similar to Xenu or Screaming Frog but is intended for Macs. You can use this tool to crawl your pages and inspect the links and their status.
This is a more advanced tool, as it can log into members’ sections, for example, and scan links inside PDFs. It can also render scripts before crawling. With Scrutiny, you can perform complete SEO scanning.
This tool can scan meta titles and descriptions, scan content, and identify errors, such as thin or duplicate content and keyword stuffing. It can also export the XML sitemap and run a spelling and grammar check on the website’s content.
Related: XML sitemap issue is one of the most common Google indexing problems for large websites. Learn how to solve XML sitemap roadblocks in this guide.
This tool’s only limitation is that it can only be used for 30 days for free. After that time period elapses, you will have to pay to use the tool.
Since it offers a range of unique features, it can be a fantastic Screaming Frog alternative.
Pros
- Meta title and description scanning
- SML sitemap export
- Advanced crawling and link inspection features
Cons
- Available for Mac users only
4. Spotibo
Spotibo is a free Screaming Frog site crawler alternative tool that can be used as an SEO crawler.
This tool is considered simple and is used for basic scanning purposes. However, unlike other options, the free alternative of this tool has a crawling limitation of 500 pages per month.
The major difference between Spotibo and other tools is that Spotibo is a web app, not a downloadable program, so it can be used on any platform. Whether you are a Windows user or a Mac user, you can use this tool to scan your website.
It is considered a strong Screaming Frog alternative since the 500 URL limit is not a lifetime limit but a monthly limit. It’s perfect for smaller websites that don’t have many pages.
This free site crawler tool can crawl simple elements of your website, such as pages and links. Spotibo will also report the status code of pages and links.
It looks for server status codes for your pages and will display items ranging from redirects to 404s to other errors. You can also use this site crawler tool for content issues, URL structure scans, meta description issues, and meta titles. It will scan images and look for titles, URLs, and alt texts.
It also gives you the option to segment the data within a dashboard and analyze it without exporting it.
Pros
- URL structure scans
- Meta description and title analysis
- Data segmentation and analysis
Cons
- Basic crawling capabilities
5. Visual SEO
Visual SEO Studio (VSS) provides both free and paid versions. The free version, a capable alternative to Screaming Frog, offers similar functionalities but with limitations: it crawls a maximum of 500 pages and uses only two concurrent connections, which can extend crawl times.
Despite this, it effectively handles essential tasks like identifying crawl errors, inspecting page titles, metadata, HTTP/HTTPS issues, broken links, and robots.txt, as well as generating XML sitemaps. Furthermore, VSS provides recommendations for resolving site issues and enhancing your website’s technical aspects.
The paid version unlocks additional features, including specific URL list crawls, analytics health checks, readability analysis, performance suggestions, link inspectors, and custom filters. It also significantly increases the crawl limit to approximately 150,000 pages.
Overall, Visual SEO Studio, particularly its free version, presents an excellent solution for beginners and those managing smaller websites. If extensive requirements aren’t a concern and you’re seeking a free and effective site crawler, VSS is a worthwhile option.
Pros
- Robots.txt inspection
- XML sitemap generation
- SEO issue fix recommendations
Cons
- Limited concurrent connections (for the free plan)
Best Paid Alternatives Tools To Screaming Frog
Users looking for affordable Screaming Frog alternatives can choose from these tools. All of these alternatives offer features similar to those of Screaming Frog.
6. Ahrefs
Unlike many tools, a key differentiator of Ahrefs is data freshness. Results are updated regularly.
This tool can also be used for functions like backlink audits, strategic content promotion, and competitor analysis. Since it is a cloud-based crawler, your website’s URL will be scanned when you feed it into the tool, and it can help identify common SEO errors on your website.
Users will be able to navigate this tool easily. It has a simple interface, and all the reports are displayed in visuals that are easy to review and understand.
A significant benefit of using Ahrefs is that the crawling will be completed within hours. That means you won’t have to wait for days for crawl results, saving you time and energy.
You can use their features to perform a technical audit of your website.
Pros
Some highlights from Ahref’s site crawler feature are:
- Identification and suggestions to fix indexation issues
- Identify pages with thin or duplicate content
- Find broken links and redirects
- Check for the canonical issues, and if the website has more than one version
- Ensure proper on-page SEO practices
- Conduct a full content audit and identify gaps
- Check structured data errors
- Verify backlink profiles and linked domains
Cons
- The technical SEO analysis isn’t as deep as Screaming Frog
7. Semrush
SEMRush is one of the most popular SEO tools and can be used by both seasoned webmasters and beginners.
In addition to conducting SEO audits, SEMRush can also be used for PPC analysis and keyword research. It can be used for functions ranging from backlink analysis to ranking position tracking to website audit and content optimization.
Users can utilize this tool to track their own websites or those of their competitors. With this tool, you get access to its extensive features, including priority optimization, which allows users to prioritize issue identification and fixes.
This tool can also be used to check HTTPS errors and ensure maximum security for your website. It can be used to fix broken images, check for content duplication, error pages, alt texts, redirect issues, and more.
Related: Discover the 7 best practices for maximizing the power of alt-text in your SEO strategy.
With SEMRush, you will get reliable and quick results. It allows you to monitor and upgrade functions and lets you check your SEO performance. You can track your own SEO efforts and review how changes are affecting the website’s performance and rankings.
Pros
Some of the highlighted features of the SEMRush site crawler tool include:
- Comprehensive indexability and crawlability, allowing you to check your HTTP status code, crawl depth, etc.
- Track fixed errors and check for new ones
- Checks for more than 120 factors
- Checks for HTTPS implementation issues, such as website architecture and security certificates
- Identifies issues with page code and missing values
Cons
- Similar to Ahrefs, users do not get a free version, and audit tools aren’t available separately
8. Netpeak Spider
Netpeak Spider Netpeak Spider is a desktop-based tool designed to crawl websites, mirroring the process of search engine bots. It proves valuable for pinpointing key SEO problems, assessing website performance, and understanding factors influencing ranking. By enabling users to identify and rectify errors, Netpeak Spider contributes to the proper functioning of a website.
It’s important to note that this tool is exclusively compatible with Windows operating systems and will not run on macOS or Linux. Upon use, it presents an all-encompassing dashboard, providing a centralized view of audit results.
Netpeak Spider stands out as a robust alternative to Screaming Frog, particularly for conducting thorough and rapid technical website reviews. It excels at identifying a wide range of issues impacting a website’s health, and its detailed reports can be easily exported. This tool performs in-depth site checks, uncovering more complex problems. However, being desktop software, it can consume significant storage space and lacks direct integration with Google Search Console (formerly Webmaster Tools).
Recognizing the importance of user experience, Netpeak Spider offers a free version. This allows potential users to test the site crawler and familiarize themselves with its features before committing to a paid subscription.
Pros
- Aids in preventing technical errors, such as duplicate content and other on-page issues
- Offers customizable crawl rules, enabling users to crawl the entire website or specific sections
- Analyzes over 50 on-page SEO factors during the crawl
- Examines both external and internal links present on a page
- Helps in avoiding issues with robots.txt and other canonicalization errors
Cons
- No direct Google Webmaster Tools (Search Console) integration
9. Moz
Moz Pro is one of the most advanced and popular SEO tools in the industry and gives you a range of solutions for any SEO issues.
Moz Pro helps audit your website, identifies potential errors affecting its health, and resolves them to improve performance. As a side benefit, the SEO tools indirectly help you rank higher in search results.
This SEO tool offers an interactive dashboard showing you the number of pages crawled, new issues, serious issues, whole issues, and more. This dashboard allows you to identify more complex errors and fix them on a priority basis, as well as colorful charts and pictorial references, so you’ll better understand critical and high-priority errors.
Moz Pro allows you to prioritize issue fixes, and you can request an instant recrawl to check whether the issue is resolved or not.
Pros
Some highlighted features of Moz’s site crawler tool include:
- Auto-crawl option, which sends a notification when a new issue arises
- Colorful reports that will enhance site understanding
- Instant recrawl to check whether the issues are fixed
- The option to flag issues
- Moz Pro checks issues on the entire website and identifies both typical and complex errors
- It allows you to prioritize issues and offers suggestions for fixing them
Cons
- Limited technical depth in SEO analysis
10. Serpstat
Serpstat Serpstat is a versatile SEO tool that handles various tasks, starting with a comprehensive site audit. This audit delivers an in-depth analysis, empowering you to assess your website’s efficiency and pinpoint improvement areas. What’s particularly useful is the ability to compare audit results over time, ensuring your optimization efforts align with your website goals. Furthermore, Serpstat allows you to schedule regular site crawls and prioritize the review of findings.
A standout feature of this site crawler is its SDO Score Dynamics. This unique functionality enables you to track changes in your audit history and identify any recurring website vulnerabilities that might impact performance. Often considered an excellent alternative to Screaming Frog, Serpstat helps users detect and resolve critical errors that could hinder their website’s SEO rankings.
Beyond its powerful capabilities, Serpstat boasts an intuitive design and offers the flexibility to segment results based on various parameters. The tool is also engineered for speed, capable of crawling and scanning your website more rapidly than some other options. It’s worth noting, however, that like many similar tools, Serpstat does not offer a free version and primarily concentrates on on-page SEO issues.
Pros
Some highlighted features of Serpstat include:
- Comparison of audit results and access to historical data for better analysis
- Inspection of simple and complex on-page technical issues that affect the SEO performance of the website
- Visually display site data to allow the user to monitor issues and elements of the website
- Displays score dynamics containing the change in audit results
- Analyze font readability, browser caching, and other elements to allow the user to improve the page loading speed
- Check the server for canonical terms and SSL
Cons
- Primarily focused on finding on-page SEO issues
Comparison of Alternative Tools to Screaming Frog
Here is how each SEO tool with features similar to Screaming Frog compares.
|
Top |
Best for |
Key Features |
Free Plan Options |
|
Prerender.io |
Improving crawling and indexing performance |
|
Yes |
|
Xenu’s Link Sleuth |
Basic SEO audit for small websites |
|
Yes |
|
Scrutiny |
SEO managers using Mac ecosystem |
|
Yes |
|
Spotibo |
Web-based crawlers with basic SEO audit features |
|
Yes |
|
Visual SEO |
Websites don’t need high-speed crawls |
|
Yes |
|
Ahrefs |
All-in-one SEO Tools |
|
No |
|
Semrush |
Competitive analysis integration |
|
No |
|
Netpeak Spider |
Data segmentation and filtering |
|
No |
|
Moz |
Content optimization guidance |
|
No |
|
Serpstat |
Rich integration with other SEO tools |
|
No |
Screaming Frog for SEO Audit, Prerender for SEO Improvement
While Screaming Frog is great for identifying SEO issues, it doesn’t fix them from the root, especially when it comes to poor crawling and indexing performance for JavaScript websites. To address this problem once and for all, many SEO teams use Prerender.
Our dynamic rendering solution can help you achieve up to 260% faster indexing and 300x better crawling performance, boosting the ranking of your JavaScript-based content on SERPs. Plus, by adding the ChatGPT user agent to the Prerender.io crawl settings, one of our customers has seen a massive referral traffic jump from ChatGPT to their site, as shown in the graph below.
Ready to optimize your SEO for Google and ChatGPT? Try Prerender.io today, and get 1,000 free renders per month. Sign up here.
FAQs – Top Screaming Frog SEO Spider Alternatives
What Is the Best Screaming Frog Alternative for Site Crawling?
Prerender.io is the best Screaming Frog alternative for site crawling, especially if you intend to improve your content indexing process. Prerender.io renders your content ahead of Google’s or ChatGPT’s crawling requests. This ensures all your content is quickly and properly indexed. Not only that, Prerender.io also offers SEO scoring and 404 error page detection features that are robust for large-scale crawling, and is a cloud-based technical SEO software.
Prerender.io vs. Screaming Frog: Which Crawlers Are Better?
Since the crawlers of Prerender.io and Screaming Frog are intended for different purposes, which site crawlers are better depends on your SEO optimization needs. Prerender.io crawls your content into a 100% ready-to-index version, cutting down Google’s indexing process from months to days. In contrast, Screaming Frog’s crawler is designed to identify SEO errors, helping you boost your content ranks and visibility. Learn more about Prerender.io vs. Screaming Frog here.
What Are Some Major Limitations of Screaming Frog?
Here are some limitations of using Screaming Frog as your technical SEO audit tool:
- Runs in your computer system (not cloud-based)
- Doesn’t support team collaboration
- It can be confusing for non-technical marketers
- Lack of visual reporting options
