AutoTDK vs Keyword Surfer (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 24, 2026, we pick Keyword Surfer: it is third in our ranking of SEO browser extensions, and it grades higher too, 3.0 against 2.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
Keyword Surfer grades higher on value for money, the free plan and ease of use. They get the same grade on features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
AutoTDK
Keyword, traffic and AI visibility research from a Chrome extension
Keyword Surfer
Free Chrome extension showing search volumes beside Google results
Which one is for you
Pick AutoTDK if
- Fits if you look up a competitor's keywords and traffic while you're on their site
- Works for bloggers gathering long-tail ideas from Google, YouTube, Amazon and Pinterest suggestions
Look elsewhere if
- Watch out: the pricing page doesn't say how many credits a plan includes or what a credit buys, and one-time packs show no readable price
- Watch out: every plan is shown as half off a crossed-out price with no end date, and monthly credits expire after a month
- Not for you if you want a way back, as the pricing FAQ says refunds aren't supported
- Tight if you stay free, since the number of free daily credits isn't stated
- Skip it if you're not on Chrome, and note the developer hasn't identified itself as a trader, so EU consumer rights don't apply
Pick Keyword Surfer if
- Fits if you want a keyword's volume while you're searching Google anyway
- Works for writers gathering related keywords into a list before drafting
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you use Firefox or Safari, as it's Chrome and Chromium browsers only
- Too light for keyword research away from Google, since there's no database to search on its own
- Not for you if you want page checks like titles, headings or schema, which it doesn't do
- Watch out: the store listing says it handles location, user activity and website content data
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAAutoTDKFair | 3.0GPAKeyword SurferVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CBasic is $9.99 a month, inside this category's cheaper quarter, with Pro at $29.99 and Premium at $99.99. But the page doesn't say how many credits any plan includes or what a credit buys, so there's nothing to set the price against, and refunds aren't supported. | AFree from Surfer, whose page calls it 100% free with no paid tier for the extension. Surfer's paid content tools are a separate product. |
| Free plan and trial | CFree daily credits on the website, and the extension's traffic, Whois and SEO analysis are described as free. The page never says how many credits a day you get, so you can't tell where free use stops. | AFree outright: volumes, cost per click, keyword ideas, page estimates and saved collections, with nothing locked behind a plan. |
| Features | CCompetitor keywords with volume and difficulty, long-tail ideas from Google, YouTube, Bing, Amazon and more, traffic estimates, backlinks, Whois, AI answer checks and AI writing tools. No title, meta or heading checks are on record, and how far credits stretch isn't stated. | CVolume and cost per click for the query, keyword ideas with overlap scores, traffic and word-count estimates for ranking pages, CSV collections and 70 countries. It does keyword numbers on Google fully, a smaller job, with no page checks and no database of its own. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. The extension works on the site you open, but the website's tools run on credits through a login, with nothing to say how many a task uses. | BNo rating on record, but there's nothing to set up: install it and the panel appears beside your next Google search. |
| Platforms and integrations | CA Chrome extension plus the website, which its FAQ says works in any mobile browser. No API or integrations are listed. | CChrome and other Chromium browsers only, so computers only, with no Firefox or Safari version. It runs on Google Search and in ChatGPT, and links to Surfer. |
| Best for | a rival's keywords and traffic while you browse | search volumes beside Google results |
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: AutoTDK and Keyword Surfer. How we grade
Price against what you get
AutoTDK starts at $9.99 a month and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Keyword Surfer has no paid plan and scores 2.3.
Keyword Surfer scores higher and starts $9.99 a month lower. Of the other SEO browser extensions on the chart, 18 score higher than AutoTDK for less, and none scores higher than Keyword Surfer for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- AutoTDK also covers backlink analysis and AI search visibility.
At a glance
| AutoTDK | Keyword Surfer | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $9.99 per month | Free |
| Free plan | Free daily credits on the website, and the extension's traffic, Whois and SEO analysis are described as free; the daily credit amount is not stated. | The extension is free; Surfer's page calls it 100% free with no paid tier for the extension itself. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | AutoTDK | Surfer Sp. z o.o. |
| Price read from | autotdk.com | surfer.ai |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
AutoTDK
- The pricing page does not say how many credits each plan includes or what a credit buys.
- The pricing FAQ says refunds are not supported.
- One-time credit packs are offered on a separate tab; their prices were not readable, and one-time credits last a year.
- The extension is listed for Chrome only, and the store notes the developer has not identified itself as a trader.
Keyword Surfer
- It runs in Chrome and other Chromium browsers only; Surfer lists no Firefox or Safari version.
- It works on the Google results page and has no keyword database to search on its own.
- The store listing says it handles location, user activity and website content data.
- Surfer's paid content editor and AI visibility tools are a separate product with their own plans.
Key features
AutoTDK
- Competitor keywords
- On any site you visit, the extension lists the keywords that may drive its organic traffic, with search volume, keyword difficulty and competition.
- Long-tail keyword ideas
- The website expands a seed keyword with suggestions from Google, YouTube, Bing, Amazon, eBay, Pinterest and other engines, exportable as CSV, text or a mind map.
- Traffic estimates
- Shows a site's traffic trend, traffic sources and visitors by country, for sizing up competitors.
- Backlinks and Whois
- Lists backlink data and referring domains, and shows basic Whois and domain details for the site.
- AI visibility and GEO audit
- Checks how a brand may appear in AI answers; the website names ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, Copilot, DeepSeek and Grok and adds a GEO audit and llms.txt generator.
- AI writing tools
- The website generates and rewrites page titles, descriptions, keywords, FAQs and testimonials, and includes an AI detector and humanizer.
Keyword Surfer
- Volume and CPC in Google
- Shows search volume and cost per click for the query in a side panel on the Google results page.
- Keyword ideas
- Lists keyword suggestions and related terms with their search volumes and an overlap score against the query.
- Ranking page metrics
- Estimates traffic for the pages in the results and shows their word count and how many times they use the keyword.
- Collections and CSV export
- Save keywords into folders to come back to without searching again, and export each folder as a CSV file.
- Data for 70 countries
- Search data can be set to any of 70 countries to match where an audience is.
- Keyword Surfer in ChatGPT
- The store listing says the extension also works in ChatGPT to rewrite text to sound more human and score how human it reads.
Plans
AutoTDK
Free$0
Free daily credits, which keep coming after a purchase; the number per day is not stated.
Basic$9.99
per month; credits included not shown on the page
Shown as a discount from a crossed-out $19.98, with no end date. Subscription credits last one month.
Pro$29.99
per month; credits included not shown on the page
Marked most popular; shown as a discount from a crossed-out $59.98, with no end date.
Premium$99.99
per month; credits included not shown on the page
The largest plan; shown as a discount from a crossed-out $199.98, with no end date.
Keyword Surfer
Free$0
Search volumes, CPC, keyword ideas, page metrics and keyword collections in Google results, free from the Chrome Web Store.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, AutoTDK or Keyword Surfer?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Keyword Surfer is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $9.99 a month for AutoTDK. AutoTDK starts at $9.99 per month, and Keyword Surfer is free.
Which has a free plan, AutoTDK or Keyword Surfer?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both AutoTDK and Keyword Surfer have a free plan.
Which platforms do AutoTDK and Keyword Surfer run on?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only AutoTDK lists a web app. Both list a browser extension. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
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.