Comparison

Screaming Frog SEO Spider vs Semrush

No clear leader: Semrush (57.5) and Screaming Frog SEO Spider (55.8) are within the 5-point margin; treat as a tie. The attribute-by-attribute breakdown below, with a source and date on every value, is the honest way to compare them.

Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
Screaming Frog SEO Spider56
Semrush58
Score
vioscaleAI score
Screaming Frog SEO Spider56 / 100medium · 50%
Semrush58 / 100medium · 53%
Pricing
Free tier
Screaming Frog SEO Spider✓
Semrush✗
Model
Screaming Frog SEO Spiderfreemium
Semrushcommercial
Price level
Screaming Frog SEO Spiderhigh
Semrushhigh
Starting price
Screaming Frog SEO Spider–
Semrush$139.95
Transparent
Screaming Frog SEO Spider✓
Semrush✓
Integrations
Count
Screaming Frog SEO Spider3
Semrush18
Security
Trust center
Content
Faq
Screaming Frog SEO Spider5 items
Semrush6 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for seo tools. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Pricing
Pricing transparency
Screaming Frog SEO SpiderTransparent
SemrushContact-sales
Free tier / free tool
Screaming Frog SEO Spider✓
Semrush✓
Pricing model
Screaming Frog SEO SpiderFlat
SemrushFlat
Data
Backlink index
Screaming Frog SEO Spider-
Semrush✓
Keyword research database
Screaming Frog SEO Spider-
Semrush✓
Capability
Rank tracking
Screaming Frog SEO Spider-
Semrush✓
Technical site audit / crawler
Screaming Frog SEO Spider✓
Semrush✓
Content optimisation (SERP-driven)
Screaming Frog SEO Spider-
Semrush✓
Competitor / SERP intelligence
Screaming Frog SEO Spider-
Semrush✓
Coverage
Local / mobile SERP support
Screaming Frog SEO Spider-
Semrush✓
Countries / locales covered
Screaming Frog SEO Spider-
SemrushGlobal; Pro plan covers 30+ markets for advertising data; 142 regional keyword d
Integration
Public API
Screaming Frog SEO Spider-
Semrush✓
Search Console / GA4 integration
Screaming Frog SEO Spider✓
Semrush✓
Deployment
Deployment
Screaming Frog SEO SpiderDesktop app
SemrushCloud

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Screaming Frog SEO Spider

Desktop software that crawls websites to identify over 300 SEO issues and opportunities. Helps analyze and improve both technical SEO performance and user experience, with integration capabilities for Google Analytics and Search Console.

Independently observed

Semrush

Comprehensive SEO and visibility platform that helps businesses understand competitor strategies, track keyword performance, audit technical issues, and monitor how their brand appears in search results and AI-generated answers.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Screaming Frog SEO Spider

from £199/moSubscriptionFree tier

Free tier (500 URLs) or £199/year for unlimited crawls and advanced features

  • FreeFree
    • Crawl up to 500 URLs
    • Identify SEO issues
    • Find broken links
    • Audit redirects
    • Analyze page titles and metadata
    • +4 more
  • Paid License£199 per year
    • Unlimited URL crawls
    • All free features
    • Advanced features
    • Extract data with XPath and CSS selectors
    • Crawl JavaScript-rendered websites
    • +2 more
as of verify ↗

Semrush

from $139.95/moSubscription7-day trial

From $139.95/month. 7-day free trial.

  • SEO Toolkit Pro$139.95/mo
    • Keyword research
    • Competitor analysis
    • Rank tracking
    • Technical site audit
    • Backlink analysis
  • SEO Toolkit Guru$249.95/mo
    • Everything in Pro
    • SEO Writing Assistant
    • Topic Research
    • Historical Data
    • Multi-targeting in Position Tracking
    • +1 more
  • SEO Toolkit Business$499.95/mo
    • Everything in Guru
    • SEO Share of Voice tracking
    • API Access
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
Web
Screaming Frog SEO Spider✗
Semrush✓
macOS
Screaming Frog SEO Spider✓
Semrush✗
Windows
Screaming Frog SEO Spider✓
Semrush✗
Linux
Screaming Frog SEO Spider✓
Semrush✗
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Screaming Frog SEO Spider✗
Semrush✓
Self-hosted
Screaming Frog SEO Spider✓
Semrush✗

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

In common (2)
  • Google Analytics
  • Google Search Console

Screaming Frog SEO Spider

3 total - 1 not shared
  • PageSpeed Insights
Independently observed

Semrush

24 total - 22 not shared
  • Google Ads
  • Google Shopping
  • Meta Ads
  • Microsoft Ads
  • LinkedIn Ads
  • TikTok Ads
  • TikTok Organic
  • CallRail
  • HubSpot
  • Mailchimp
  • Matomo
  • ChatGPT
  • Google AI Overviews
  • Gemini
  • Perplexity
  • Facebook Ads
  • TikTok
  • Looker Studio
  • LinkedIn
  • Lovable
  • Claude
  • Adobe
Independently observed
Still deciding?

Screaming Frog SEO Spider or Semrush: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.