Buying guide
Best Marketing & SEO tools
Tools that help teams grow and measure demand.
- tools reviewed
- 117
- with a free plan
- 73
- with a free trial
- 33
Our picks
Our top picks
Each slot is assigned by an editor, with the reasoning written next to it. Nobody can buy a position.
Rank #1Ahrefs
Professional SEO toolset for keyword research, backlink analysis, site auditing, and rank tracking.
Why it wins this slot: Ahrefs has the industry's most trusted backlink index and a keyword database that genuinely covers the long tail. If you can only afford one SEO tool, this is it.
- Free plan
Rank #2Semrush
All-in-one digital marketing platform with 55+ tools for SEO, PPC, content marketing, social media, and competitor research — used by 10 million marketers.
Why it wins this slot: Semrush covers more ground than almost any competitor — keyword research, site audit, position tracking, social, and PPC data — making it the all-in-one choice for agencies managing multiple clients.
- Free trial
- $129.95/month (or $108.33/month billed annually)
Rank #3Google Analytics
Google's free web analytics platform — the universal standard for understanding website traffic, user behavior, and conversions.
Why it wins this slot: GA4 is free, deeply integrated with Google Ads, and the only tool that shows you real user behaviour on your site. The learning curve is steep but the data is unmatched at the price point.
- Free plan
Rank #4Hotjar
Heatmaps, session recordings, and user feedback tools — the fastest way to understand why users behave the way they do on your website.
Why it wins this slot: Hotjar answers the question SEO data cannot: why users leave. Heatmaps and session recordings make it indispensable for CRO work alongside your keyword tool.
- Free plan
Rank #5Looker Studio
Google's free business intelligence and data visualization tool — connect to Google Analytics, Sheets, BigQuery, and 800+ data sources to build shareable dashboards.
Why it wins this slot: Looker Studio (formerly Data Studio) turns your GA4 and Search Console data into polished client-ready dashboards. Free, flexible, and better than most paid reporting tools.
- Free plan
Rank #6Amplitude
Product analytics platform for understanding user behavior — the tool product teams use to make data-driven decisions about feature development and growth.
Why it wins this slot: Amplitude goes deeper on user behaviour than traditional SEO tools — if you run a SaaS and care as much about retention as rankings, it fills a gap nothing else covers.
- Free plan
Disclosure: Some links may be affiliate links. We label commercial relationships clearly and never charge you more.
Everything in this category
All Marketing & SEO tools
Fathom Analytics
Marketing & SEO
Privacy-focused website analytics without cookies.
Best for: Website owners who want simple, privacy-first analytics without…
- Free trial
Screaming Frog SEO Spider
Marketing & SEO
The industry-standard website crawler for technical SEO.
Best for: Technical SEO professionals and agencies who need the most detailed…
- Free plan
Postmark
Marketing & SEO
Transactional email delivery with the best deliverability.
Best for: Developers who need the most reliable transactional email delivery…
- Free trial
SE Ranking
Marketing & SEO
Comprehensive SEO platform for agencies and businesses.
Best for: SEO agencies who need white-label reporting, comprehensive rank…
- Free trial
SparkLoop
Marketing & SEO
Referral and recommendation growth engine for newsletters and media brands.
Best for: Newsletter operators, media companies, and digital creators on…
- Free plan
- Free trial
Plausible Analytics
Marketing & SEO
Privacy-friendly website analytics.
Best for: Website owners who want simple, clean analytics without GDPR cookie…
- Free trial
Senja
Marketing & SEO
Social proof platform to collect, manage, and display video and text testimonials.
Best for: Course creators, SaaS founders, freelance agencies, and e-commerce…
- Free plan
- Free trial
Microsoft Clarity
Marketing & SEO
Free heatmaps and session recordings from Microsoft.
Best for: Website owners who want unlimited heatmaps and session recordings…
- Free plan
Tally
Marketing & SEO
Free form builder with a Notion-like experience.
Best for: Individuals and teams who need a capable, beautiful form builder with…
- Free plan
Google Search Console
Marketing & SEO
Free Google tool for monitoring search performance.
Best for: Every website owner who cares about organic search — this is the…
- Free plan
KeywordChef
Marketing & SEO
Keyword research tool that filters SERPs to uncover weak competition and real intent.
Best for: Niche site builders, affiliate marketers, and content bloggers…
- Free plan
Ahrefs
Marketing & SEO
Professional SEO toolset for keyword research, backlink analysis, site auditing, and rank tracking.
Best for: SEO professionals, agencies, and in-house marketing teams who need…
- Free plan
Head to head
Written comparisons
- NordVPN vs 1Password: Comparison and DifferencesCompare NordVPN and 1Password to understand how their distinct cybersecurity features protect network traffic versus digital credentials.
- Notion vs Asana: Which Productivity Tool Fits Your Team?A detailed comparison of Notion and Asana covering features, pricing, project management workflows, and which platform suits your team best.
- Google Gemini vs DeepSeek: AI Comparison and VerdictCompare Google Gemini and DeepSeek across pricing, context windows, API compatibility, multimodal features, and privacy considerations.