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Should I use Screaming Frog?

We run remarkably successful search engine optimisation (SEO) and paid search (PPC) campaigns using a unique blend of data, technology & creativity. - screamingfrog.co.uk

Worth it. Buy if you do technical SEO and need deep site crawls — it's the category default at a flat $279/year with a usable free tier. Skip it if you want rank tracking, keyword data, or one-click simplicity bundled in; that's all-in-one suite territory.

Confidence

High. Based on 20+ public sources including G2, Trustpilot, TechRadar, Reddit threads, VA security registry, and official pricing pages.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of useNo direct ease-of-use evidence in sources
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityNo support-quality evidence in sources
  • Security posture

Pricing

$0

Free

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
Paid License$279/year

Best for

  • Technical SEO teams
  • Agencies auditing client sites
  • Large-site owners needing deep crawls

Not for

  • Non-technical marketers wanting one-click audits
  • Anyone needing rank tracking or keyword data — it only crawls
  • Small sites already covered by the free tier
  • Cloud-first teams — this is a desktop app

Gotchas - check before you buy

medium

Free version caps crawls; larger sites push you to the $279/year license fast

medium

Log File Analyser is a separate paid product with its own pricing

medium

Desktop app: crawl speed and capacity limited by your machine, not the cloud

low

License is buy-and-renew annually, not one-time

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Rated 4.7/5 on G2 across 187 reviews
  • Free tier for smaller sites; flat annual fee beyond that
  • Handles more intensive crawls than all-in-one suites
  • Unlimited URLs at $279/year
  • Still routinely recommended as the default SEO crawler

Cons

  • Desktop-only — heavy crawls depend on your own hardware
  • No rank tracking or keyword data; needs a suite alongside
  • Pricing frustrated some users into building their own crawlers
  • Occasional users question the annual fee's value

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/21/2026 - 16 sources - No breaches found; the VA's federal tool registry flags one vulnerability entry for the SEO Spider.

official x4review x10security x2
  • Vulnerability flagged in VA Tool Reference Model, The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs tool registry notes a vulnerability exists; specifics are not stated in the reviewed sources.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 4/5

    Rating

  • $0

    Starting price

  • 16

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 4/5. Flat $279/yr unlimited crawling; some price gripes
  • Ease of use. No direct ease-of-use evidence in sources
  • Feature depth: 5/5. Deep technical crawling; beats suites for intensive crawls
  • Support quality. No support-quality evidence in sources
  • Security posture: 3/5. VA registry flags a vulnerability; no breach reports
  • 4.7/5 G2 rating 187 reviews
  • 4/5 Trustpilot Screaming Frog reviews
  • $0 Starting price Free tier; paid license $279/yr
  • Yes Free tier Guess: capped at 500 URLs

Pricing

Free

$0

  • Crawls smaller sites
  • Capped on larger sites

Paid License

$279/year

  • Unlimited URL crawls
  • Full spider feature set
  • Annual renewal

Security

No breaches found; the VA's federal tool registry flags one vulnerability entry for the SEO Spider.

  • Vulnerability flagged in VA Tool Reference ModelThe U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs tool registry notes a vulnerability exists; specifics are not stated in the reviewed sources.14

What users say

Reviewers overwhelmingly call it the go-to technical crawler, though some question the annual fee for occasional use.

“Is Screaming Frog worth the $279/year USD?”
Reddit, r/SEO
“I got frustrated with ScreamingFrog crawler pricing so I built...”
Reddit, r/TechSEO

Companies that use it

  • Shazam13
  • Spotahome
  • Startle
  • LinkedIn
Full analysis

Based on 20+ public sources including G2, Trustpilot, TechRadar, Reddit threads, VA security registry, and official pricing pages.

The default technical SEO crawler: deep, cheap ($279/yr), free for small sites. Skip if you want all-in-one SEO or one-click simplicity.

Methodology

Based on 20+ public sources including G2, Trustpilot, TechRadar, Reddit threads, VA security registry, and official pricing pages.

Sources

  1. Screaming Frog Products | G2 seller reviewsg2.com
    review
  2. Screaming Frog Reviews - Trustpilottrustpilot.com
    review
  3. Screaming Frog SEO Spider review - TechRadartechradar.com
    review
  4. Screaming Frog Review 2026: Pricing - CrawlRavencrawlraven.com
    review
  5. Is Screaming Frog worth the $279/year USD? - Redditreddit.com
    review
  6. I got frustrated with ScreamingFrog crawler pricing - Redditreddit.com
    review
  7. Is ScreamingFrog Still the Recommended Tool? - Redditreddit.com
    review
  8. Screaming Frog vs. Semrush - Exploding Topicsexplodingtopics.com
    review
  9. WebKernelAI vs Screaming Frog - Cloud vs Desktop Auditwebkernelai.com
    review
  10. Pricing - Screaming Frog SEO Spiderscreamingfrog.co.uk
    official
  11. SEO Spider Licencescreamingfrog.co.uk
    official
  12. Log File Analyser Pricingscreamingfrog.co.uk
    official
  13. Shazam Case Study - Screaming Frogscreamingfrog.co.uk
    official
  14. Screaming Frog SEO Spider - VA OIT TRMoit.va.gov
    security
  15. Screaming Frog Security Rating - UpGuardupguard.com
    security
  16. SEO tools that I actually love - LinkedInlinkedin.com
    review

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