KeySearch vs Keyword Chef (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 24, 2026, we pick KeySearch: it is second in our ranking of keyword research tools, and they share a 2.2 GPA.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
KeySearch grades higher on features. Keyword Chef grades higher on ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
KeySearch
Low-cost keyword research tool with rank tracking and site audits
Keyword Chef
Credit-based long-tail keyword finder for bloggers and niche sites
Which one is for you
Pick KeySearch if
- Fits if you run a blog or niche site and want the main SEO jobs for about $20 a month
- Works for hunting long-tail keywords a small site can rank for
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you track lots of keywords, as Starter stops at 80 and Pro at 200
- Skip it if you want keyword data in your other tools, as there's no API on record
- Not for you if you want longer than a week to try it, as there's no free plan
- Watch out: Foresight and team sharing are Pro only, at $40 a month on yearly billing
- Watch out: AI writing runs on monthly credits, 5,000 on Starter, and the listing doesn't say if the trial needs a card
Pick Keyword Chef if
- Fits if you run a niche site and want topics where forums rank on page one
- Works for occasional research, as pay-as-you-go credits never expire
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you write in anything other than English, as that's all it supports
- Tight if you target a country outside its 7, which only get global volume
- Pricey if you want Niche Insights without a subscription, as that's $97 a year on its own
- Watch out: monthly credits don't roll over, and pay-as-you-go credits cost more per keyword
- Watch out: the free trial allows only 30 SERP lookups and no bulk SERP checks
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAKeySearchFair | 2.2GPAKeyword ChefFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CStarter is $20 a month on yearly billing, or $24 monthly, which sits a little above this category's $17 middle for research, tracking and audits in one account. Pro, with Foresight and team sharing, is $40. | CStarter is $29 a month for 5,000 keywords, at the dearer end of this category. If you only dip in now and then, $20 buys 1,200 credits once and they never expire. Monthly credits don't roll over. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan, just a 7-day trial and a set of free stand-alone tools. The listing doesn't say whether a card is needed. The terms let you ask for a refund within 30 days of a first purchase. | CNo free plan, but the trial needs no card and has no time limit: 1,000 credits and up to 30 SERP lookups. That's enough to see if it suits you, not to run on. |
| Features | BVolume, CPC and a difficulty score by country, a rival's keywords, a backlink checker, YouTube research, rank tracking, audits and an AI writer. That covers the whole job. The limits are on the extras, like 80 tracked keywords on Starter. | CAutomatic filtering, a SERP Score for weak results on page one, bulk SERP checks, wildcard searches and Niche Insights. It does long-tail hunting fully, but the listing names the gaps: English only, and country volume for just 7 countries. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. Looking up a keyword is quick, but it's a suite: rank tracking, audits and Foresight all need your site and keywords set up first, and AI use runs on monthly credits. | BNo rating on record, but there's nothing to set up. Type a seed and it does the sorting for you, grouping what's left into questions, best-of and how-to. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only. There's no desktop or phone app, and the listing shows no integrations and no API. | CWeb only. No desktop or phone app, and no integrations or API on record. |
| Best for | keyword research with rank tracking included | low-competition long-tail keywords for bloggers |
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: KeySearch and Keyword Chef. How we grade
Price against what you get
KeySearch starts at $20 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Keyword Chef starts at $29 a month and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and KeySearch starts $9 a month lower. Of the other keyword research tools on the chart, 7 score higher than KeySearch for less, and 9 score higher than Keyword Chef 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
- Keyword Chef can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- KeySearch also covers rank tracking, site audit, backlink analysis, content optimization and youTube SEO.
At a glance
| KeySearch | Keyword Chef | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $20 per month, billed annually ($24 billed monthly) | $29 per month for 5,000 credits, or $20 once for 1,200 credits |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial, cancel anytime | Free trial: 1,000 one-time credits with no time limit and up to 30 SERP lookups; no credit card needed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | KeySearch LLC | Keyword Chef |
| Price read from | keysearch.co | app.keywordchef.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
KeySearch
- There is no free plan after the 7-day trial, only a set of free stand-alone tools.
- Rank tracking is capped at 80 keywords on Starter and 200 on Pro, low next to dedicated rank trackers.
- Foresight and team collaboration are only on the Pro plan.
- Refunds can be requested within 30 days of the first purchase, according to the terms.
Keyword Chef
- Only English is supported, and country-level search volume covers just 7 countries; other countries get global volume.
- Monthly credits do not roll over, while pay-as-you-go credits never expire but cost more per keyword.
- The free trial allows only 30 SERP lookups and no bulk SERP checks.
- Niche Insights is not included with pay-as-you-go credits; on its own it costs $97 a year.
Key features
KeySearch
- Keyword research and difficulty
- Look up search volume, cost per click and a difficulty score for keywords by language and country, with filters for long-tail ideas.
- Live SERP and competitor analysis
- See which pages rank for a keyword and what keywords a rival site ranks for, along with a backlink checker and URL metrics.
- Foresight recommendations
- On the Pro plan, Foresight reads a site's niche, authority and rankings and suggests keywords it could win and pages worth improving.
- AI content assistant
- Builds outlines and drafts from the pages that already rank and checks topic coverage. AI use is metered in monthly credits.
- Rank tracking and site audit
- Track positions for 80 or 200 keywords depending on plan, and audit up to 2,000 or 5,000 pages a month for technical problems.
- YouTube research
- Research keywords for YouTube and look at the videos that perform well in a niche.
Keyword Chef
- Automatic keyword filtering
- Removes broad, competitive and junk keywords and groups the rest into categories such as questions, best-of and how-to.
- SERP Score
- Counts the easy-to-outrank results, such as forums and user-generated content, on page one for each keyword, and can be customized.
- Bulk SERP checks
- Paid users can pull the search results for every keyword in a report at once with Get All SERPs, at no extra credit cost.
- Wildcard search
- Search patterns like 'best * for chefs' or 'can you cook * in the oven' to find best-of topics and clusters, with minus signs to exclude words.
- Keyword import
- Upload keywords from other tools to check their volume and SERP Score.
- Niche Insights
- Ten years of trend data, keywords by intent, topic lists, products and affiliate brands for a niche. Included in monthly plans or $97 a year on its own.
Plans
KeySearch
Starter Plan$20
per month, billed annually ($24 billed monthly)
200 keyword searches a day, 80 tracked keywords, 2,000 audited pages and 5,000 AI credits a month. No Foresight.
Pro Plan$40
per month, billed annually ($48 billed monthly)
500 keyword searches a day, 200 tracked keywords, 5,000 audited pages, 15,000 AI credits a month, Foresight and team sharing.
Keyword Chef
Starter$29
per month for 5,000 credits
1 credit is 1 keyword in a report. Monthly credits expire each cycle; includes Niche Insights, Domain Age and queue priority.
Plus$69
per month for 20,000 credits
The same features as Starter, at about $0.0034 a credit.
Pro$119
per month for 50,000 credits
The same features as Starter, at about $0.0024 a credit.
Pay As You Go Starter$20
one-time, for 1,200 credits that never expire
Lifetime credits for occasional use. Pay-as-you-go packs do not include Niche Insights.
Pay As You Go Plus$100
one-time, for 10,000 credits that never expire
Lifetime credits at $0.01 each, without Niche Insights.
Pay As You Go Pro$250
one-time, for 50,000 credits that never expire
Lifetime credits at $0.005 each, without Niche Insights.
Ways to pay less
KeySearch
- Annual discount
Two months free with annual billing
KeySearch's pricing section offers annual billing with 2 months free: Starter is $20 a month instead of $24, and Pro $40 instead of $48.
Keyword Chef
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, KeySearch or Keyword Chef?
As of Oct 23, 2026, KeySearch is cheaper to start with: $20 a month, against $29 a month for Keyword Chef. KeySearch starts at $20 per month, billed annually ($24 billed monthly), and Keyword Chef starts at $29 per month for 5,000 credits, or $20 once for 1,200 credits.
Which has a free plan, KeySearch or Keyword Chef?
As of Oct 23, 2026, neither KeySearch nor Keyword Chef 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.