Better Robots.txt vs SiteSEO (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, SiteSEO grades higher than Better Robots.txt: 3.0 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
SiteSEO grades higher on value for money, features and platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Better Robots.txt
WordPress plugin that builds robots.txt and llms.txt rules
SiteSEO
WordPress SEO plugin from Softaculous with a yearly Pro license
Which one is for you
Pick Better Robots.txt if
- Fits if you run WordPress and want to say which AI crawlers may visit
- Works for site owners who want a wizard instead of editing robots.txt
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if your site is not on WordPress, since it only runs there
- Tight if you stay free: AI crawler rules, llms.txt and the AI-First preset need Pro at $89 a year
- Watch out: licences are per site, and paid features and updates stop when a licence ends
- Watch out: the free trial for Pro and Premium has no stated length, and Premium is $149 for one site
Pick SiteSEO if
- Fits if you want instant indexing pings and sitemaps on a free WordPress plugin
- Works for WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads stores adding product schema on Pro
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if your site isn't on WordPress, as there's no standalone app
- Tight if you stay free, since redirects, 404 monitoring, schema types, breadcrumbs and the robots.txt editor need Pro
- Watch out: SiteSEO AI needs Pro plus a token pack, from $3 for 100,000 tokens to $20 for 2 million, each valid a year
- Watch out: there's no trial, only a 30-day money-back guarantee, and token packs are refunded only if none are used
How we grade them
| 2.4GPABetter Robots.txtFair | 3.0GPASiteSEOVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | B$89 a year for one site, about $7.42 a month, inside the cheapest quarter of this category's WordPress plugins ($7.99). | APersonal is $49 a year for 1 site, about $4.08 a month, under $4.79, which is 60% of where this category's cheaper quarter starts. Professional is $99 a year for 5 sites and Business $249 for unlimited sites. AI tokens cost extra. |
| Free plan and trial | BA free edition on WordPress.org with the wizard, Essential preset and search engine controls, which one site can live on. | BThe free plugin covers titles and meta, content analysis for unlimited keywords, XML and HTML sitemaps, social tags and instant indexing. A site could run on it, but redirects, schema types and breadcrumbs aren't included. |
| Features | CWizard, four presets, crawler controls, llms.txt and a free audit. AI rules and llms.txt are paid features. | BTitles and social tags, 20+ on-page tests, sitemaps including news and video, schema, local business markup, redirects with 404 monitoring, file editors, llms.txt and Search Console reports. It covers the whole job, with much of it on Pro. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. It is a WordPress plugin with a wizard, and you review your settings before saving. | CNo rating on record. It runs in the WordPress admin, but there are title templates, keywords per post and Google connections to set up before it does much. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWordPress and WooCommerce only. There is no standalone app. | BWeb only, inside WordPress, with Google Search Console, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, WooCommerce, Easy Digital Downloads, Elementor and IndexNow listed. No standalone app. |
| Best for | robots.txt and AI crawler rules on WordPress | free indexing pings and sitemaps in WordPress |
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: Better Robots.txt and SiteSEO. How we grade
Price against what you get
Better Robots.txt starts at $7.42 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. SiteSEO starts at $4.08 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.7.
SiteSEO scores higher and starts $3.34 a month lower. Of the other SEO plugins and apps on the chart, 15 score higher than Better Robots.txt for less, and none scores higher than SiteSEO 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
- Better Robots.txt also covers site audit and AI search visibility.
- SiteSEO also covers content optimization, schema markup and internal linking.
At a glance
| Better Robots.txt | SiteSEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $89 per year for 1 site | $49 per year for 1 site |
| Free plan | Free edition on WordPress.org with the setup wizard, Essential preset, search engine controls and basic bad bot blocking. | Free plugin on WordPress.org: titles and meta with dynamic variables, content analysis for unlimited keywords, XML and HTML sitemaps, Open Graph and X cards, Google Indexing API and IndexNow. |
| Free trial | Free trial offered on Pro and Premium; length not stated | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Pagup | Softaculous |
| Price read from | checkout.freemius.com (not the vendor's own page) | siteseo.io |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Better Robots.txt
- Runs only inside WordPress; the plugin has no standalone app.
- AI-specific crawler rules, llms.txt and the AI-First preset need a paid edition, from $89 per year for 1 site.
- Licenses are per site, and paid-only features and updates stop when a license expires.
- The pricing page shows no amounts; the prices here come from the Freemius checkout it links to.
SiteSEO
- It runs only inside WordPress; there is no standalone app.
- Redirects, 404 monitoring, schema types, breadcrumbs, news and video sitemaps and the robots.txt editor need SiteSEO Pro.
- SiteSEO AI needs Pro plus a token pack bought separately: $3 for 100,000 tokens up to $20 for 2 million, each valid a year.
- Paid plans have a 30-day money-back guarantee; token packs are refundable within a month only if none are used.
Key features
Better Robots.txt
- Guided setup wizard
- A step-by-step wizard with plain-language explanations replaces editing the robots.txt file by hand.
- Four presets
- Essential, AI-First, Fortress and Custom give a starting policy, and each rule can still be changed afterward.
- Separate crawler families
- Search engines, AI and LLM crawlers, SEO tools, archive bots and bad bots are configured apart from each other.
- llms.txt and AI usage signals
- Pro and Premium can publish an optional llms.txt file and AI usage preferences alongside robots.txt.
- Review before saving
- A final step previews the generated robots.txt so the rules can be checked before they are published.
- Free crawl audit
- A web-based checker scans robots.txt, llms.txt and AI crawler coverage without a sign-up.
SiteSEO
- Titles, meta and social tags
- Set titles and meta descriptions globally or per post with dynamic variables, preview them for Google, Facebook and X, and output Open Graph and X cards.
- Content analysis
- Checks each post against any number of target keywords and runs over 20 on-page tests with suggestions, on the free plugin.
- Sitemaps and instant indexing
- XML sitemaps for posts, pages, post types, taxonomies, images and authors plus an HTML sitemap, with Google Indexing API and IndexNow pings. Pro adds news, video and RSS sitemaps.
- Schema and local business
- Pro adds structured data types, automatic site-wide schema, local business markup, breadcrumbs and product data for WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads.
- Redirects and file editors
- Pro adds redirects with 404 monitoring, robots.txt and .htaccess editors, an llms.txt file, SEO alerts and an external links manager.
- Search Console and PageSpeed
- Pro shows impressions, clicks, CTR, positions and top queries from Search Console, and runs Google PageSpeed Insights for mobile and desktop.
Plans
Better Robots.txt
Free$0
Setup wizard, review-and-save step, Essential preset, search engine controls and basic bad bot blocking.
Pro$89
per year for 1 site
Adds the AI-First and Custom presets, per-crawler AI rules, llms.txt and SEO tool controls. $139 for 3 sites, $179 for 5.
Premium$149
per year for 1 site
Adds the Fortress preset, archive and anti-scraping controls and wider bad bot coverage. $219 for 3 sites, $289 for 5.
SiteSEO
Free$0
The WordPress.org plugin: titles and meta, content analysis, sitemaps, social previews, Knowledge Graph and instant indexing.
Personal$49
per year for 1 site
SiteSEO Pro on 1 site with a year of updates and standard support.
Professional$99
per year for 5 sites
The same Pro features on 5 sites, with premium support.
Business$249
per year for unlimited sites
The same Pro features on unlimited sites, with priority support.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Better Robots.txt or SiteSEO?
As of Nov 12, 2026, SiteSEO is cheaper to start with: $4.08 a month when paid by the year, against $7.42 a month when paid by the year for Better Robots.txt. Better Robots.txt starts at $89 per year for 1 site, and SiteSEO starts at $49 per year for 1 site.
Which has a free plan, Better Robots.txt or SiteSEO?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Better Robots.txt and SiteSEO have a free plan.
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.