KeywordTool.io vs kwrds.ai (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, KeywordTool.io and kwrds.ai share a 2.4 GPA, both have a free plan, and kwrds.ai starts cheaper, at $39 a month against $68 a month.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
KeywordTool.io grades higher on the free plan. kwrds.ai grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
KeywordTool.io
Autocomplete keyword ideas from Google and 16 other search platforms
kwrds.ai
Keyword and People Also Ask research with AI answers and an API
Which one is for you
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
Pick kwrds.ai if
- Fits if you write FAQ sections and want the questions Google shows for a keyword
- Works for developers who want keyword and PAA data through an API, sold from $49 a month
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want rank tracking or a site audit, as it only does research
- Tight if you research a lot, since the web plan stops at 1,500 queries a month and more means asking them
- Watch out: the free account shows only the first result, and the API is sold apart from the web plan
- Watch out: the pricing page contradicts itself on whether the web plan includes API access
- Pricey if you just need volumes, at $39 a month on yearly billing, and cancelling is done by email
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAKeywordTool.ioFair | 2.4GPAkwrds.aiFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | CUI Full Access is $39 a month on yearly billing, $49 monthly, at the dear end of this category but under its dearest tenth. It's the only web plan: past 1,500 queries a month you have to ask kwrds.ai about higher limits. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | CA free account gets the top keyword and question lists and some free SEO tools, but its pricing FAQ says the tools show just the first result. Fine for a look. Paid plans have a 30-day money-back guarantee. |
| Features | 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. | CVolumes with history, CPC, intent and competition in 190+ countries, PAA questions with AI answers, suggestions from Google, YouTube, TikTok, Amazon and more, URL rankings and topic reports. But it's research only: no rank tracking or site audit. |
| Ease of use | 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. | BNo rating on record, but there's nothing to connect or build: you type a keyword or a question and read the results. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | BWeb only, with a JSON API and an MCP server for Claude Desktop and Cursor. The API is sold as separate plans from $49 a month, and the pricing page contradicts itself on whether the web plan includes it. |
| Best for | long-tail ideas from Google and 16 other platforms | People Also Ask questions with AI answers |
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: KeywordTool.io and kwrds.ai. How we grade
Price against what you get
KeywordTool.io starts at $68 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. kwrds.ai starts at $39 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and kwrds.ai starts $29 a month lower. Of the other keyword research tools on the chart, 1 scores higher than KeywordTool.io for less, and 1 scores higher than kwrds.ai 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
- KeywordTool.io also covers app store optimization and youTube SEO.
At a glance
| KeywordTool.io | kwrds.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $68 per month, billed annually ($88 billed monthly) | $39 per month, billed annually ($49 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | 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 account: top keyword and question lists, free SEO tools and keyword ideas without search volumes; the pricing FAQ says the tools show only the first result. One free API call per endpoint. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Essential Apps LLC and Key Tools Limited | KWRDS AI, Inc. |
| Price read from | keywordtool.io | kwrds.ai |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
kwrds.ai
- The web plan has one price; going past its 1,500 queries a month means contacting kwrds.ai about higher limits.
- API plans are sold separately from the web plan, and the pricing page contradicts itself on whether the web plan includes API access.
- There is no rank tracking or site audit; it is a research tool only.
- Paid plans carry a 30-day money-back guarantee; cancelling is done by email.
Key features
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.
kwrds.ai
- Keyword research
- Keyword ideas from Google autosuggest plus AI, with search volume and its history, CPC, intent and a competition index, in 190+ countries and languages.
- People Also Ask questions
- Pull the questions Google shows for a keyword, in real time, and have AI write short FAQ answers or long answers for articles, with sources.
- Many suggestion sources
- The search box takes suggestions from Google, ChatGPT, YouTube, TikTok, Amazon, Reddit, Bing, Perplexity and about a dozen other sites.
- URL rankings and SERP data
- See the keywords a URL ranks for, and the ranking titles and URLs for any keyword.
- Topic research
- Enter a topic and AI builds an Excel report of related keywords, volumes, 12-month trends, CPC, difficulty and questions, in about 10 minutes.
- API and MCP
- A JSON API covers keyword research, PAA, search volume, SERP features, URL rankings and AI content, and can be connected to AI assistants through MCP.
Plans
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.
kwrds.ai
Free$0
Browse 1,000+ top keyword lists and top People Also Ask questions, use the free SEO tools, and preview the keyword tool.
UI Full Access$39
per month, billed annually ($49 billed monthly)
All tools in the web app with 1,500 queries a month and 500 AI research answers a month; the card says API access is included.
Starter API Access$49
per month for 600 API calls (20 a day)
Any API endpoint, including search volume, CPC, trends, competition, intent, SERP data and the AI keyword tool.
Full API Access$99
per month for 1,200 API calls (40 a day)
The same endpoints with twice the calls. Higher limits and enterprise terms are quoted by email.
Ways to pay less
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.
kwrds.ai
- Annual discount
Save 20% with annual billing
kwrds.ai's pricing page lists annual billing at 20% less: UI Full Access is $39 a month billed annually instead of $49 a month.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, KeywordTool.io or kwrds.ai?
As of Oct 23, 2026, kwrds.ai is cheaper to start with: $39 a month, against $68 a month for KeywordTool.io. KeywordTool.io starts at $68 per month, billed annually ($88 billed monthly), and kwrds.ai starts at $39 per month, billed annually ($49 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, KeywordTool.io or kwrds.ai?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both KeywordTool.io and kwrds.ai have a free plan.
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.