KeySearch vs Keyword Magic (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 Magic 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 Magic
Keyword research with live SERP previews and AI content briefs
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 Magic if
- Fits if you research a few keywords a week and draft posts with an AI model
- Works for a solo blogger who wants volume and difficulty without a full SEO suite
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you work in a team, as accounts are for one person only
- Skip it if you want rank tracking, audits or backlinks, which the vendor says it doesn't do
- Tight if you stay free, at 5 actions a month, where one search, one SERP fetch or one brief is an action
- Watch out: refunds cover only the latest payment, and only if it was a mistake or no actions were used
- Watch out: it's web only with no integrations or API, so briefs are copied into your AI model by hand
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAKeySearchFair | 2.2GPAKeyword MagicFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CPro is $15 a month for 200 actions, billed monthly, between this category's cheaper quarter and its middle. An action is a search, a live SERP fetch or a brief, under a fair-use policy. |
| 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. | CThe free plan has every feature and needs no card, but only 5 actions a month. That's enough to see how it works and not much else. |
| 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. | CHundreds of related keywords per seed, with volume, difficulty, CPC, intent and trend in 170+ countries, a live top-10 fetch and AI briefs. The vendor's own FAQ says there's no rank tracking, site audit or backlink analysis. |
| 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 keyword, open one that looks good, and the brief is a paste away from ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only. There's no desktop or phone app, and the listing shows no integrations and no API. | CWeb only, with no integrations or API. The briefs are made to paste into an AI model by hand. |
| Best for | keyword research with rank tracking included | keyword research for people who write with AI |
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 Magic. 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 Magic starts at $15 a month and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Keyword Magic starts $5 a month lower. Of the other keyword research tools on the chart, 7 score higher than KeySearch for less, and 5 score higher than Keyword Magic 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
- KeySearch also covers rank tracking, site audit, backlink analysis, content optimization and youTube SEO.
At a glance
| KeySearch | Keyword Magic | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $20 per month, billed annually ($24 billed monthly) | $15 per month for 200 actions, billed monthly |
| Free plan | None | 5 actions a month with every feature, including AI content briefs, search history, bookmarks and CSV export. No card needed. |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial, cancel anytime | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | KeySearch LLC | KeywordMagic.io |
| Price read from | keysearch.co | keywordmagic.io |
| 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 Magic
- The free plan's 5 actions a month are enough to try it, not to work with it.
- There is no rank tracking, site audit or backlink analysis, as the vendor's own FAQ says.
- Accounts are for one person; team accounts are not supported.
- Refunds cover only the latest payment, and only if charged by mistake or before any actions were used.
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 Magic
- Keyword expansion
- One seed keyword expands into hundreds of related phrases, questions and long-tail variations, ranked by opportunity.
- Volume, difficulty and intent
- Each keyword shows search volume, a difficulty score, competition, CPC, AI-detected intent and a 12-month volume trend.
- Live SERP preview
- Opening a keyword fetches the current Google top 10 for the chosen country, rather than a stored copy.
- AI content briefs
- Builds an outline, questions to answer, entities and the gaps the top 10 leave, bundled into one prompt for any AI writing model.
- 170+ countries
- Volumes and SERPs can be pulled for more than 170 countries and their languages.
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 Magic
Free$0
5 actions a month with every feature unlocked. An action is one keyword search, one live SERP fetch or one AI brief.
Pro$15
per month for 200 actions, billed monthly
The same features with 200 actions a month, under a fair-use policy. Opening a keyword already fetched does not count.
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 Magic
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, KeySearch or Keyword Magic?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Keyword Magic is cheaper to start with: $15 a month, against $20 a month for KeySearch. KeySearch starts at $20 per month, billed annually ($24 billed monthly), and Keyword Magic starts at $15 per month for 200 actions, billed monthly.
Which has a free plan, KeySearch or Keyword Magic?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only Keyword Magic has a free plan. KeySearch does not, though it has 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.