Keyword Tool API vs KeywordTool.io (2026): which should you pick?

As of Oct 23, 2026, KeywordTool.io grades higher than Keyword Tool API: 2.4 against 1.8 out of 4.0.

Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA

Keyword Tool API grades higher on value for money. KeywordTool.io grades higher on the free plan and ease of use. They get the same grade on features and platforms.

Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.

Keyword Tool API

Keyword suggestion and search volume API across 17 search platforms

From $68/mo

Full details keywordtool.io

KeywordTool.io

Autocomplete keyword ideas from Google and 16 other search platforms

Free plan · from $68/mo

Full details keywordtool.io

Which one is for you

Pick Keyword Tool API if

Fits if you want Google and Bing search volumes pulled into your own tools or warehouse
Works for long-tail research on YouTube, Amazon and TikTok as well as Google

Look elsewhere if

Not for you if you want to try it first, as there's no trial, only a 30-day money-back guarantee
Tight if you run many jobs, since Starter's 50 requests a day are shared with the web app and MCP
Watch out: volumes for platforms other than Google and Bing are modeled estimates, not planner data
Pricey if you pay monthly, at $88 against $68 on yearly billing

Pick KeywordTool.io if

Fits if you want long-tail ideas from YouTube, Amazon or TikTok and can do without the numbers
Works for pulling keyword data into Claude or ChatGPT through the MCP server on a paid plan

Look elsewhere if

Pricey if you only want search volumes, at $68 a month on yearly billing and $88 monthly
Skip it if you need a difficulty score to judge which keywords you can win
Not for you if you want to try the paid data first, as there's no trial, only a 30-day refund
Watch out: only Google and Bing volumes come from the ad planners; the rest are modeled estimates
Tight if you run lots of lookups, as Starter allows 50 requests a day across web, API and MCP

How we grade them

	1.8GPAKeyword Tool APIWeak	2.4GPAKeywordTool.ioFair
Value for money	CStarter is $68 a month on yearly billing ($88 monthly) for 50 requests a day, above this category's dearer quarter but short of its dearest tenth. The same plan also covers the web app and MCP.	DStarter is $68 a month on yearly billing, $88 monthly, which is in this category's dearest tenth. Every paid plan does include the API, an MCP server and volume for 50,000 keywords a day. There's no trial, only a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Free plan and trial	FNothing free for the API: no trial, only a 30-day money-back guarantee, which isn't a trial. A free Guest MCP gives suggestions with volume on the first 5 keywords, but no API access.	BThe free version needs no account and no card, and gives up to 750+ suggestions a search with no limit on record. One person could live on that for ideas. What you don't get is volume, CPC or competition: those are all paid.
Features	CSearch volume for up to 1,000 keywords a request, suggestions from 17 platforms, competitor keywords and a sandbox. The listing's own gap: only Google and Bing volumes come from the ad planners, and the rest are modeled estimates.	CIdeas from 17 platforms, plus volume, CPC, trend history and bulk lookups on paid plans. But there's no difficulty score or competitor lookup on record, and only Google and Bing volumes come from the ad planners.
Ease of use	CJudged on how fast a developer gets a first result: a sandbox base URL and a public OpenAPI 3.1 file for Postman or generated clients. No rating on record, and one daily request pool is shared with the web app and MCP.	BNo rating on record, and nothing to set up: the free version runs without an account, so you type a word, pick a platform and read the list.
Platforms and integrations	BWeb, with an API, an MCP server for Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor, and an OpenAPI file for Postman. No desktop or phone app, so B is the top.	BWeb only, with no desktop or phone app. Every paid plan has a REST API and an MCP server for Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor, all drawing on the same daily request pool.
Best for	keyword volumes from Google, YouTube and Amazon	long-tail ideas from Google and 16 other platforms

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: Keyword Tool API and KeywordTool.io. How we grade

Where they differ

KeywordTool.io also covers app store optimization and youTube SEO.

In commonWebPublic APIKeyword research

At a glance

	Keyword Tool API	KeywordTool.io
Pricing	Paid	Free plan
Starts at	$68 per month for 50 requests a day, billed annually ($88 billed monthly)	$68 per month, billed annually ($88 billed monthly)
Free plan	None	Free version, no account needed: up to 750+ autocomplete suggestions per search term. Search volume, cost per click and competition data come with Keyword Tool Pro.
Free trial	None listed	None listed
Web
Made by	Essential Apps LLC and Key Tools Limited	Essential Apps LLC and Key Tools Limited
Price read from	keywordtool.io	keywordtool.io
Checked	Oct 23, 2026	Oct 23, 2026

Worth knowing

Keyword Tool API

The API needs a Keyword Tool Pro plan; there is no free trial, but every plan has a 30-day money-back guarantee.
One daily request pool, from 50 on Starter to 400 on Agency, is shared by the web app, the API and MCP, and resets every 24 hours.
Only Google and Bing volumes come from the ad planners; the other platforms' volumes are modeled estimates from clickstream data.
A free Guest MCP gives Google and Bing suggestions with volume on the first 5 keywords, but no API access.

KeywordTool.io

The free version shows suggestions only; volume, CPC and competition need a paid plan starting at $68 a month billed annually.
There is no free trial; paid plans instead carry a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Only Google and Bing volumes come from the ad planners; other platforms' volumes are modeled estimates.
Paid plans are capped by daily requests, from 50 on Starter to 400 on Agency, shared across the web app, API and MCP.

Key features

Keyword Tool API

Search volume endpoint: Send 1 to 1,000 keywords per request for monthly volume, a monthly breakdown, cost per click and competition, for one location and language.
Keyword suggestions from 17 sources: Autocomplete suggestions, related keywords, questions and prepositions from Google, YouTube, Bing, Copilot, Perplexity, Amazon, TikTok, Reddit and more.
Competitor keywords: Pass one URL to get up to 2,000+ keywords Google associates with it, with volume, cost per click and low and high top-of-page bids.
Deep localization: Google data for 190+ countries, 68,000+ locations and 50+ languages; Bing planner data for 6 countries, or device data for 32.
Sandbox and OpenAPI spec: A sandbox base URL for testing without using quota, and a public OpenAPI 3.1 file for Postman collections or generated clients.
MCP server: Connect Claude, Cursor or ChatGPT to the same data through MCP, drawing on the plan's shared daily request pool.

KeywordTool.io

Autocomplete keyword ideas: Adds letters and numbers around a seed term to pull hundreds of long-tail suggestions, across 190+ Google domains and many languages.
17 search platforms: Research Google, YouTube, Bing, Copilot, Perplexity, Amazon, eBay, the App Store, Google Play, Instagram, X, Reddit, Pinterest, Etsy, TikTok and Naver.
Search volume and cost per click: Pro plans show volume, CPC and competition. Google and Bing figures come from their keyword planners; the other platforms are estimates.
Trend history: Monthly search volume history covers 12 months on Starter, 24 on Growth and up to 48 on Scale and Agency.
Bulk search volume: Upload an existing keyword list and get volume, CPC and trend data for it, up to 1,000 keywords per request.
API and MCP server: Every paid plan includes a REST API and an MCP server for assistants such as Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor, drawing on the same daily request pool.

Plans

Keyword Tool API

Starter$68
per month for 50 requests a day, billed annually ($88 monthly)
Search volume for up to 50,000 keywords a day, 12 months of history, all 17 platforms, web app, API and MCP.
Growth$148
per month for 100 requests a day, billed annually ($188 monthly)
Search volume for up to 100,000 keywords a day and 24 months of history.
Scale$308
per month for 200 requests a day, billed annually ($388 monthly)
Search volume for up to 200,000 keywords a day and 48 months of history.
Agency$628
per month for 400 requests a day, billed annually ($788 monthly)
Search volume for up to 400,000 keywords a day and 48 months of history.
Enterprise & CustomCustom
Higher daily request and keyword limits, custom API and MCP usage, procurement paperwork and bank-transfer payment, after a demo.

KeywordTool.io

Free$0
Autocomplete keyword suggestions for any term, up to 750+ per search, without signing up.
Starter$68
per month for 50 requests a day, billed annually ($88 monthly)
Search volume for 50,000 keywords a day, 12 months of trend history, all 17 platforms, web app, API and MCP.
Growth$148
per month for 100 requests a day, billed annually ($188 monthly)
Search volume for 100,000 keywords a day and 24 months of trend history.
Scale$308
per month for 200 requests a day, billed annually ($388 monthly)
Search volume for 200,000 keywords a day and 48 months of trend history, for in-house teams.
Agency$628
per month for 400 requests a day, billed annually ($788 monthly)
Search volume for 400,000 keywords a day and 48 months of trend history.
Enterprise & CustomCustom
Higher daily limits, custom API and MCP usage, procurement paperwork and bank-transfer payment. Quoted after a demo.

Ways to pay less

Keyword Tool API

Annual discount
Save over 20% with annual billing
Keyword Tool's pricing lists annual billing at over 20% less: Starter is $68 a month billed annually instead of $88 billed monthly.

KeywordTool.io

Annual discount
Save over 20% with annual billing
Keyword Tool's pricing lists annual billing at over 20% less: Starter is $68 a month billed annually instead of $88 billed monthly.

Common questions

Which is cheaper, Keyword Tool API or KeywordTool.io?

As of Oct 23, 2026, they start at the same price. Keyword Tool API starts at $68 per month for 50 requests a day, billed annually ($88 billed monthly), and KeywordTool.io starts at $68 per month, billed annually ($88 billed monthly).

Which has a free plan, Keyword Tool API or KeywordTool.io?

As of Oct 23, 2026, only KeywordTool.io has a free plan. Keyword Tool API does not.

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.

How we review and grade