IndexMeNow vs Screaming Frog SEO Spider (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Screaming Frog SEO Spider grades higher than IndexMeNow: 2.4 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
IndexMeNow grades higher on ease of use and platforms. Screaming Frog SEO Spider grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
IndexMeNow
Credit-based Google URL indexing with a 10-day refund rule
Screaming Frog SEO Spider
Desktop website crawler for technical SEO audits
Which one is for you
Pick IndexMeNow if
- Fits if you submit a few dozen URLs and want unindexed ones credited back
- Works for people who want hourly status checks included
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you submit many URLs, with the smallest pack at about $0.98 each
- Skip it if you want a free plan or trial, as none exists
- Watch out: prices exclude VAT, so checkout can come higher
- Watch out: about 20% of URLs may not be indexed in 72 hours by the vendor's own average
- Tight if you want results fast on every URL, as some wait 10 days for a credit-back
Pick Screaming Frog SEO Spider if
- Fits if you're a technical SEO who audits large sites from your own computer
- Works for sites under 500 URLs, which the free version crawls with no time limit
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want keyword research, rank tracking or backlinks, as it only crawls
- Not for you if you'd rather not learn technical SEO terms, XPath or regex
- Tight if your computer is short on memory or storage, since crawl size depends on it, and there's no web or phone version
- Pricey if a team needs it: licences are $279 per user a year, so two people need two
- Watch out: the free version can't save crawls, render JavaScript, schedule audits or connect to Google data
How we grade them
| 1.8GPAIndexMeNowWeak | 2.4GPAScreaming Frog SEO SpiderFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D$59 for 60 credits is about $0.98 a URL, falling to $0.47 on the $1,999 pack. Rapid URL Indexer's packs run $0.04 to $0.05 a credit, so this is several times dearer for the same job. | BGraded against its alternatives. A licence is $279 a year per user, about $23.25 a month, with no crawl limit and JavaScript rendering. Only Sitebulb Lite is cheaper, and it stops at 10,000 URLs; Semrush and Ahrefs cost about five times as much. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing is free: no plan and no trial, and the smallest pack is $59. | BA free version with no sign-up crawls up to 500 URLs with the core audits, for as long as you like, so small sites can live on it. It can't save crawls, change settings, render JavaScript or pull in Google data. |
| Features | CIndexing by three methods, hourly index checks, refunds after 10 days and an API. It does the one job, and the 80% in 72 hours is an average the vendor states. | CIt does the crawling job fully: 300+ issues, JavaScript rendering, custom extraction, scheduling, crawl comparison and sitemaps. But that's one part of SEO, with no keyword research, rank tracking or backlink index. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating is on record, but you submit URLs with nothing to configure. | CNo rating on record. Enter a URL and it crawls, but reading the results takes technical SEO knowledge, and custom extraction runs on XPath, CSS Path or regex. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, a Chrome plugin, a WordPress plugin and a free API. | CA program for Windows, Mac and Linux, linked to Google Analytics, Search Console, PageSpeed Insights, OpenAI, Gemini, Looker Studio and Sheets. Computers only, with no web or phone version. |
| Best for | paid Google indexing of URLs | technical site audits on your own computer |
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: IndexMeNow and Screaming Frog SEO Spider. How we grade
Where they differ
- Screaming Frog SEO Spider also covers site audit.
At a glance
| IndexMeNow | Screaming Frog SEO Spider | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free plan |
| Starts at | $59 for 60 credits, excluding VAT | $279 per user / year |
| Free plan | None | Free version, no sign-up: crawls up to 500 URLs at a time with the core audits, but cannot save crawls, change the crawl configuration, render JavaScript or use integrations. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | IndexMeNow | Screaming Frog Ltd |
| Price read from | indexmenow.com | screamingfrog.co.uk |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
IndexMeNow
- Prices are listed excluding VAT, so buyers in some countries will pay more at checkout.
- The smallest pack is $59 for 60 credits, about $0.98 per URL.
- The vendor's own figures are an average of 80% indexed in 72 hours, so some URLs will not index and are refunded after 10 days.
- There is no subscription and no free tier; credits never expire, and checking whether URLs are already indexed is free.
Screaming Frog SEO Spider
- Licences are per user and last one year; two people need two licences.
- It is a desktop app, so crawl size depends on the computer's memory and storage.
- The free version cannot save crawls, render JavaScript, schedule audits or connect to Google data.
Key features
IndexMeNow
- Three-method indexing
- URLs are sent through a combination of three indexing methods; the vendor says about 80% are indexed within 72 hours.
- Refund after 10 days
- A URL that is still not indexed after 10 days is credited back to the account automatically.
- Hourly index checks
- A built-in checker, powered by the vendor's isindexed.com, looks up each URL's status every hour at no charge.
- Refresh already indexed URLs
- The credit pack includes a way to refresh and boost pages that are already indexed.
- API
- A free API is included on all projects, and a Chrome plugin and an official WordPress plugin are offered.
Screaming Frog SEO Spider
- Technical SEO audit
- Find broken links, server errors, redirect chains, missing or duplicate titles and descriptions, and directives such as noindex and canonicals.
- JavaScript rendering
- With a licence, render pages in a built-in Chromium to crawl sites built with frameworks such as React, Angular and Vue.
- Custom extraction and search
- Pull any data from page HTML with XPath, CSS Path or regex, and search source code across a whole crawl (licence only).
- Google and AI integrations
- Pull Google Analytics, Search Console and PageSpeed Insights data into a crawl, or run pages through OpenAI and Gemini (licence only).
- Scheduling and crawl comparison
- Schedule crawls with exports to Google Sheets or run them from the command line, and compare crawls or staging against production.
- Site visualisations and sitemaps
- See site structure as force-directed and tree diagrams, and generate XML and image sitemaps from a crawl.
Plans
IndexMeNow
Starter$59
one-time, for 60 credits
About $0.98 per credit, excluding VAT. One credit is one indexed URL.
Premium$199
one-time, for 260 credits
About $0.76 per credit, excluding VAT.
Agency$399
one-time, for 600 credits
About $0.66 per credit, excluding VAT. Marked popular on the page.
Guru$999
one-time, for 2,000 credits
About $0.49 per credit, excluding VAT.
Platinum$1,999
one-time, for 4,250 credits
About $0.47 per credit, excluding VAT.
Screaming Frog SEO Spider
Free$0
Up to 500 URLs per crawl, broken links, redirects, metadata, duplicates, XML sitemaps and site visualisations.
Paid licence$279
per user / year, for 1 to 4 licences
No crawl limit beyond memory and storage, saved crawls, scheduling, JavaScript rendering, crawl comparison, integrations and support. £199 in pounds.
Ways to pay less
IndexMeNow
No public discounts listed.
Screaming Frog SEO Spider
- Other savings
Volume pricing from 5 licences
Buying 5 to 9 licences at once costs $265 each a year, 10 to 19 cost $249 each, and 20 or more cost $235 each, against $279 for 1 to 4.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, IndexMeNow or Screaming Frog SEO Spider?
As of Nov 13, 2026, IndexMeNow starts at $59 for 60 credits, excluding VAT, and Screaming Frog SEO Spider starts at $279 per user / year.
Which has a free plan, IndexMeNow or Screaming Frog SEO Spider?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Screaming Frog SEO Spider has a free plan. IndexMeNow does not.
Which platforms do IndexMeNow and Screaming Frog SEO Spider run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only IndexMeNow lists a web app and a browser extension and only Screaming Frog SEO Spider lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps. 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.