Algoroo vs cognitiveSEO (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Algoroo grades higher than cognitiveSEO: 2.8 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
Algoroo grades higher on value for money, the free plan and ease of use. cognitiveSEO grades higher on features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
cognitiveSEO
SEO suite for backlink audits, rank tracking and content optimization
Which one is for you
Pick Algoroo if
- Fits if your rankings just dropped and you want to see whether all of Google moved that day
- Works for sites ranking in Australia, with google.com.au beside google.com
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want your own rankings tracked, as it doesn't do that at all
- Skip it if you need a market other than google.com or google.com.au
- Too light for real analysis, since the keyword set behind the score isn't published
- Watch out: the Weekly Winners and Losers sections have their data switched off and were empty when read
- Watch out: it's a web page only, with no app, API or integrations
Pick cognitiveSEO if
- Fits if you're cleaning up a backlink profile after a Google penalty
- Works for consultants who audit other people's links for a living
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you'd rather not give a card for a trial, as the 7-day Starter trial needs a card or PayPal
- Skip it if you want AI answer tracking, which the maker sells separately as BrandMentions
- Pricey if you pay monthly, at $129.99 against $89 on a 12-month contract
- Tight if you need white label or JavaScript crawling, which start at Premium at $199 a month
- Watch out: the pricing table puts the API on Elite only, while the API page says Premium and up
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAAlgorooGood | 2.0GPAcognitiveSEOFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree, all of it. There's no paid tier and no account: the chart, the daily summary and the update notes are open to anyone, and the google.com desktop history goes back to 2017. | CStarter is $89 a month on a 12-month contract, or $129.99 billed monthly, for 5 campaigns, 2 users and 1,500 keywords. The yearly price sits at the edge of this category's dearer quarter; paying monthly puts it in the dearest tenth. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree outright, with nothing to sign up for. Open the page and the whole thing is there, for desktop and mobile results. | DNo free plan, and the 7-day trial of Starter needs a card or PayPal account up front. You can cancel before it ends, but it's not a no-strings look. |
| Features | DOne narrow job: a daily volatility score with color-coded spikes and Google's announced updates marked. It covers only google.com and google.com.au, and it never tracks your own site or keywords, which is what this category is for. | CSite audits, backlink analysis with penalty-risk detection, rank tracking by city, content scoring and automated reports. The gaps the listing names: no AI answer tracking, which is a separate product, and Starter has no JavaScript crawling or white label. |
| Ease of use | BNo rating on record, but there's nothing to set up: open the site, pick google.com or google.com.au and desktop or mobile, and read the chart. | CNo rating on record. Link audits and disavow work assume you know what you're looking at, and campaigns take setting up. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, with no app, no API and no integrations. It's a page you visit, and that's it. | BWeb only, with Google Analytics and PageSpeed Insights as its two integrations and an API for link, ranking and social data. The pricing table puts the API on Elite, the API page says Premium and up. No desktop or phone app. |
| Best for | checking whether Google is shaking things up | backlink audits and Google penalty recovery |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Algoroo and cognitiveSEO. How we grade
Where they differ
- Algoroo also covers research.
- cognitiveSEO also covers reports, keyword research, site audit, backlink analysis and content optimization.
At a glance
| Algoroo | cognitiveSEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free trial |
| Starts at | Free | $89 per month, billed annually ($129.99 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | The volatility chart, the daily summary and the Google update notes are open to anyone at algoroo.com, with no account or sign-up. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 7-day free trial of the Starter plan; a card or PayPal account is required |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Dejan SEO Pty Ltd | GESKIMO SRL |
| Price read from | algoroo.com | cognitiveseo.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Algoroo
- It measures movement across its own keyword set; it does not track your site's keywords or positions.
- Only google.com and google.com.au are covered, on desktop and mobile.
- The keyword set is not published; the site describes it only as thousands of carefully selected keywords.
- The page has Weekly Winners and Losers headings, but their data calls are switched off and both lists were empty when read.
cognitiveSEO
- Starter has no white-label reports, JavaScript crawling or success manager; those start at Premium.
- The pricing table lists API access on Elite only, while the API page says it comes with Premium and up.
- Yearly prices are 12-month contracts, and the trial needs a card or PayPal account up front.
- AI visibility and brand-mention tracking are not in these plans; the maker sells them as a separate product, BrandMentions.
Key features
Algoroo
- Daily roo score
- Each day's ranking movement across the watched keywords, up and down, is summed into one figure; a high roo means unusually volatile results.
- Color-coded timeline
- Ordinary days stay green, while days with unusual movement turn orange or red, so a likely algorithm change stands out on the chart.
- Google update notes
- When Google discloses an algorithm update, Algoroo adds it as an annotation on the matching day of the chart.
- Two markets, two devices
- Switch the chart between google.com and google.com.au, and between desktop and mobile results.
- Today's summary
- A short note compares today's score with yesterday's and counts the days since the last orange or red spike.
- History back to 2017
- The data behind the google.com desktop chart starts in July 2017, so a current spike can be set against earlier updates.
cognitiveSEO
- Site Audit
- Crawls the pages of a site, lists technical problems with fixes, and checks speed through Google PageSpeed. JavaScript crawling starts at Premium.
- Backlink analysis
- Crawls and classifies the links pointing at your site and your rivals', from 200,000 backlinks per site on Starter to 3 million on Elite.
- Unnatural Link Detection
- Flags backlinks likely to draw a Google penalty, for link audits, disavow files and penalty recovery. Included on every plan.
- Rank Tracker
- Tracks Google rankings on desktop and mobile by country, language and city, daily or weekly, for 1,500 to 13,500 keywords per account.
- Content optimization
- A content assistant that combines keyword research, a look at the pages that rank and a content score, paid for with 150 to 1,000 audit credits.
- Reports and API
- Automated marketing reports on every plan, white label from Premium, and an API for link, ranking and social data.
Plans
Algoroo
Free$0
Daily roo score and its history for google.com and google.com.au, on desktop and mobile results.
cognitiveSEO
Starter$89
per month, billed annually ($129.99 billed monthly)
5 campaigns, 2 users, 1,500 tracked keywords, 200,000 backlinks analyzed per site and 150 content audit credits. No white label.
Premium$199
per month, billed monthly (yearly view shows $209 a month)
10 campaigns, 5 users, 4,500 keywords, 1 million backlinks per site, white label and JavaScript crawling. Shown against a crossed-out $299.
Elite$349
per month, billed annually ($499 billed monthly)
25 campaigns, 10 users, 13,500 keywords, 3 million backlinks per site, 1,000 content audit credits, API access and a success manager.
Ways to pay less
Algoroo
No public discounts listed.
cognitiveSEO
- Annual discount
Save about 30% with yearly billing
The pricing page's yearly toggle says save 30%: Starter is $89 a month on a 12-month contract instead of $129.99 billed monthly, and Elite $349 instead of $499.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Algoroo or cognitiveSEO?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Algoroo is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $89 a month for cognitiveSEO. Algoroo is free, and cognitiveSEO starts at $89 per month, billed annually ($129.99 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Algoroo or cognitiveSEO?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only Algoroo has a free plan. cognitiveSEO does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.