Free vs paid

Exactly how far the free tools get you, and the point where paying starts to pay back.

14 articles

MCP server vs browser extension for SEO: where the tool actually sits
Browser extensions inspect the rendered page; MCP servers work in your codebase. What each can and cannot do, and which suits which kind of work.
3 min read
Self-hosted vs hosted SEO tooling: what you gain by running it yourself
When running SEO tooling yourself makes sense, what hosted services genuinely provide that you cannot replicate, and the honest cost of the free path.
4 min read
Free SEO tools vs paid: where the free stack actually runs out
Exactly how far free SEO tools get you, which capabilities you genuinely cannot get without paying, and the signals that tell you it is time to buy.
4 min read
The best free SEO tools, and the exact order to set them up
Every genuinely free SEO tool worth using, what each one covers, and a setup sequence that gets a small site to a solid technical baseline without spending anything.
4 min read
Search Console vs paid rank trackers: when is estimated data worth paying for?
Search Console gives you real position data free but with real limitations. What paid rank trackers actually add, and whether your situation needs them.
4 min read
Search Console vs Google Analytics: before the click and after it
What each of Google’s free tools actually measures, why their numbers never match, and which one to open for which question.
4 min read
Do you actually need an SEO tool subscription?
A straight assessment of when SEO software is genuinely necessary, when it is expensive reassurance, and the test that tells you which situation you are in.
4 min read
SEO MCP server vs SEO SaaS: two different answers to two different questions
What an MCP-based SEO tool does that a traditional SEO platform does not, what it cannot do at all, and which of the two your situation actually calls for.
5 min read
AI coding tool vs SEO tool: which one actually changes your website?
What an AI coding assistant can do for SEO that a traditional SEO platform cannot, where it fails badly, and why the honest answer is that you need both.
4 min read
How much should SEO tools cost? A budget by business size
What a sensible SEO tool budget looks like for a solo site, a small business, an in-house team and an agency — with real prices and the seat maths that breaks most budgets.
4 min read
Bing Webmaster Tools vs Google Search Console: use both, it is free
What Bing Webmaster Tools gives you that Search Console does not, why it matters more than Bing’s search share suggests, and how to set both up properly.
3 min read
Ahrefs Webmaster Tools vs paid Ahrefs: what the free tier really covers
What the free Ahrefs Webmaster Tools gives you for your own verified sites, exactly where it stops, and whether the $29 Starter plan or Lite at $129 is the right next step.
4 min read
Screaming Frog free vs paid: is €245 a year worth it?
What the free 500-URL tier of Screaming Frog covers, what the licence unlocks, and the point at which a paid crawler becomes necessary rather than nice.
3 min read
The SEO tools you can replace with free ones — and the ones you cannot
A line-by-line look at which paid SEO capabilities have genuine free equivalents, which do not, and how much you could realistically cut from your tool budget.
4 min read

RankBrain AI

Is RankBrain AI a good fit for your workflow?

If you have findings to implement and access to your site’s code, an editor-based workflow may help you turn those findings into changes you can review. If your main need is backlink research, historical rank tracking or client reporting, a dedicated data tool may be a better fit.

RankBrain AI connects SEO guidance to Claude Code, Cursor or Codex in your editor. With the relevant file access and tools configured, your assistant can inspect templates and propose code changes. You review the diff, test it and decide what to ship. This is implementation support, not a guarantee of rankings or a replacement for specialist datasets.

A good fit: you use an AI coding assistant and want SEO guidance alongside the files you maintain. Not a good fit: you need a managed service or a standalone backlink and historical ranking database.

Do it yourself — free

You own the site and the repo, so you already have what you need. Point your AI coding tool at the codebase, work through the fixes in this article, and pay nobody. Most of what is written here is method, and the method is free.

Consider RankBrain AI — $5/month

The hosted corpus gives your assistant a shared reference for SEO implementation. Check its advice against current documentation and your own tests. Flat $5/month, no seats, 3-day trial. Use the trial to see whether it helps with a real task in your workflow.

Check my site free See how it works

We make this, so weigh the comparisons accordingly — and check them against the capability tables, where we sit on the same rubric as everyone else. We have no backlink index and no historical rank data, and we say so there.