DataForSEO vs Kafkai (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, DataForSEO grades higher than Kafkai: 2.8 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
DataForSEO grades higher on value for money, features and ease of use. They get the same grade on the free plan and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
DataForSEO
Pay-as-you-go APIs for SERP, keyword, backlink and AI mention data
Free trial · from $50
Which one is for you
Pick DataForSEO if
- Fits if you're building your own rank tracker, keyword tool or backlink checker and want one bill for the data
- Works for batch jobs that can wait minutes for a queued result at $0.60 per 1,000
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want reports to look at, since it returns JSON with no SEO dashboard
- Tight if you're only testing, as the $1 trial credit goes fast and the next step is a $50 top-up
- Watch out: search operators multiply the price of a Google query by five
- Pricey if you pull backlinks or AI mentions in bulk, at $0.024 a task plus $0.000036 a row, and $0.1 a task plus $0.001 a row
Pick Kafkai if
- Fits if you already work in Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor and want search data inside it
- Works for one-off research projects, since you pay as you go
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want an article writer, because there is no writing tool of its own
- Not for you if you don't use an AI assistant over MCP
- Tight if you want rank tracking, since research runs only when asked
- Watch out: prices are in yen with Japanese consumption tax, and credits expire after 90 days
How we grade them
| 2.8GPADataForSEOGood | 1.8GPAKafkaiWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | B$50 is the smallest top-up and the balance never expires, a first spend at the dear end of this category's usual $25 to $50. The rate lifts it: Google results are $0.60 per 1,000 in the standard queue and $2 live, where most rivals here charge $1 to $4. | CPay-as-you-go credits in yen: ¥1,000 buys 1,000 credits, enough for one project with one competitor. It isn't a monthly plan, so it can't be set against the category cleanly. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan. New accounts get $1 of trial credit and a Sandbox that returns sample responses, enough to wire up your code, and then it's a $50 top-up. | C1,000 free credits on signup with no card, valid for 90 days. |
| Features | ASearch results from Google, Bing, YouTube, Yahoo, Baidu, Naver and Seznam, plus keyword volumes, its own backlink index back to 2019, site crawls and brand mentions in ChatGPT and AI Overviews. No other API in this category covers that much of the SEO job from one key. | DKeyword, competitor and backlink research, with Search Console data and WordPress drafts. It needs an AI assistant to be useful and has no writing tool. |
| Ease of use | CJudged on how fast a developer gets a first result: a Sandbox, spending limits per API and connectors for Sheets, n8n and Make. No rating on record, and each API is billed per SERP, task, row or page, which takes reading before you start. | DAbout 30 minutes of one-time MCP setup through an AI assistant. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with an API and connectors for Google Sheets, n8n, Make, Zapier, Airtable, Postman and Pabbly. No desktop or phone app, so B is the top. | BWeb, with Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Claude Code and WordPress. |
| Best for | SEO data for building your own tools | search research for an AI assistant |
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: DataForSEO and Kafkai. How we grade
Where they differ
- DataForSEO also covers site audit, AI search visibility and sERP API.
- Kafkai also covers rank tracking.
In commonWebKeyword researchBacklink analysis
At a glance
| DataForSEO | Kafkai | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $50 minimum top-up, used as you go | ¥1,000 one-time top-up for 1,000 credits (¥1,100 with consumption tax) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | $1 of trial credit for new accounts, plus a free Sandbox that returns sample responses | 1,000 free credits on signup, no credit card; credits are valid for 90 days |
| Web | ||
| Made by | DataForSEO OU | Kafkai Giken, Inc. |
| Price read from | dataforseo.com | kafkai.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
DataForSEO
- Google organic results cost $0.0006 per SERP in the standard queue, $0.0012 in the priority queue and $0.002 live; search operators multiply the price by five.
- Backlinks API calls cost $0.024 per task plus $0.000036 per row, and LLM Mentions $0.1 per task plus $0.001 per row.
- There is no free plan: after the $1 trial credit, the account needs a top-up of at least $50.
- It is a data API with no ready-made SEO dashboard; results come back as JSON for your own code or a connector.
Kafkai
- Prices are in Japanese yen and include Japanese consumption tax; the checkout works out tax from the billing address.
- Credits expire 90 days after they are granted or bought.
- It does not track rankings on a schedule; research runs only when asked.
- It is used through an AI assistant over MCP, with a roughly 30-minute one-time setup, and has no writing tool of its own.
Key features
DataForSEO
- SERP API
- Search results from Google (organic, Maps, AI Mode, News, Images, Jobs and more), Bing, YouTube, Yahoo, Baidu, Naver and Seznam, in queued or live modes.
- Keyword data
- Search volume and keyword metrics from Google Ads, Bing Ads, Google Trends and clickstream sources, plus the Labs API for keyword and competitor research.
- Backlinks API
- Backlink profiles, referring domains, anchors and link history back to 2019 from DataForSEO's own continuously crawled index, with bulk endpoints for up to 1,000 targets.
- On-Page and Lighthouse
- Crawls websites, audits pages, parses content and takes screenshots, priced from $0.00015 a page.
- AI Optimization API
- LLM Mentions draws on a database of over 280 million prompts and answers from ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews; other endpoints return LLM responses and AI search volume.
- Spending controls
- The dashboard tracks usage and cost, sets daily spending limits per account, API or endpoint, and can top up the balance automatically.
Kafkai
- Keywords and content gaps
- Lists the keywords a site ranks for with position and monthly search volume, and the keywords competitors rank for that it does not.
- Competitor finding
- Returns the sites that rank for the same searches and how far their keywords overlap with yours.
- Backlinks
- Shows who links to a site, new and lost links by date, and the sites that link to competitors but not to you.
- Search Console for your own site
- After you prove the domain with a DNS record, pages and searches losing clicks can be read through the same AI.
- Amazon and Google Shopping checks
- Shows where a product appears in Amazon and Google Shopping results for a keyword, in the supported countries, at 5 credits per keyword.
- WordPress drafts
- Your AI writes the article and Kafkai sends it to a WordPress site as a draft; Kafkai itself does not write or store articles.
Plans
DataForSEO
Pay as you go$50
one-time top-up, used as you go
No subscription: the balance never expires and each API is billed at its own rate per SERP, task, row or page.
Kafkai
1,000 credits¥1,000
one-time top-up, used as you go (Â¥1,100 with consumption tax)
1,000 credits, enough for one project with one competitor, per the features page.
3,000 credits¥3,000
one-time top-up, used as you go (Â¥3,300 with consumption tax)
3,000 credits with no bonus.
5,000 credits¥5,000
one-time top-up, used as you go (Â¥5,500 with consumption tax)
5,000 credits with no bonus.
10,500 credits¥10,000
one-time top-up, used as you go (Â¥11,000 with consumption tax)
10,000 credits plus a 5% bonus.
22,000 credits¥20,000
one-time top-up, used as you go (Â¥22,000 with consumption tax)
20,000 credits plus a 10% bonus.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, DataForSEO or Kafkai?
As of Nov 13, 2026, DataForSEO starts at $50 minimum top-up, used as you go, and Kafkai starts at ¥1,000 one-time top-up for 1,000 credits (¥1,100 with consumption tax).
Which has a free plan, DataForSEO or Kafkai?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither DataForSEO nor Kafkai has a free plan. Both have 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.