META SEO inspector vs Web Developer (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, META SEO inspector and Web Developer share a 3.0 GPA, both are free, so the choice depends on which features you need.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
META SEO inspector
Free Chrome extension that lays out a page's hidden metadata
Free
Web Developer
Free browser toolbar of page inspection and validation tools
Free
Which one is for you
Pick META SEO inspector if
- Fits if you check titles, descriptions and social tags before a page goes live
- Works for teams that need the interface in a language other than English
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you're not on Chrome, as the developer names no other browser
- Too light for whole-site audits, since it inspects the page in front of you
- Not for you if you want search volumes or backlinks, which it doesn't show
- Watch out: the developer hasn't identified itself as a trader, so EU consumer rights don't apply
- Watch out: it's a one-person project, with requests and bug reports going by email or X
Pick Web Developer if
- Fits if you check alt text, hidden elements and markup by hand
- Works for people who switch between Firefox, Edge and Chrome and want the same tools in each
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want search, ranking or backlink data, as it has none
- Watch out: the latest release is 3.0.1 from June 2024, built in the developer's spare time with no release dates
- Skip it if you're on Opera, where the version is 0.2.2 from February 2017
- Tight if you're on Firefox, which lacks the disable features, Display Style Information and the context menu
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAMETA SEO inspectorVery good | 3.0GPAWeb DeveloperVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree with no account, logins or fees; the developer takes optional donations through PayPal or Buy Me a Coffee. | AFree and open source in the Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Opera stores; the developer asks for optional donations. |
| Free plan and trial | AEvery feature is free and there's no paid version, so nothing is held back. | AFree outright: every tool, on all four browsers, with nothing held back. |
| Features | CTitles and descriptions with length checks, canonicals, meta robots, H1 to H6, alt text, Open Graph and Twitter tags, JSON-LD and a new broken link checker. The basics, with no search volumes, rankings or backlink data. | CAlt and title attributes, broken images, element outlines, hidden elements, live CSS, cookies, forms, rulers, responsive previews and validator links. A large toolbox, but only part of it is SEO, and there's no search or ranking data. |
| Ease of use | BNo rating on record, but no account and nothing to set up: click the icon, or dock it in the side panel, and the page's metadata is listed. | BNo rating on record, but nothing to set up: click the toolbar button and pick a tool from the menu. |
| Platforms and integrations | CMade for Chrome, so computers only, with no Firefox, Safari or Edge version named. No integrations, though it links out to site testers. | CChrome, Edge, Firefox and Opera on Windows, macOS and Linux, but computers only, with no integrations. |
| Best for | a page's hidden metadata in a side panel | a toolbar of page inspection tools |
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: META SEO inspector and Web Developer. How we grade
Price against what you get
META SEO inspector has no paid plan and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Web Developer has no paid plan and scores 2.3.
On this chart the two sit in the same place: the same score for the same starting price. Of the other SEO browser extensions on the chart, none scores higher than META SEO inspector for less, and none scores higher than Web Developer 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
- Web Developer is open source, according to its own site.
- META SEO inspector also covers schema markup.
In commonFree planBrowser extensionSite audit
At a glance
| META SEO inspector | Web Developer | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Completely free with no account, logins or fees; the developer accepts optional donations through PayPal or Buy Me a Coffee. | The whole extension is free in the Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Opera add-on stores; the developer asks for optional donations. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Omiod (Andrea Doimo) | Chris Pederick |
| Price read from | omiod.com | chrispederick.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
META SEO inspector
- It is made for Chrome; the developer names no Firefox, Safari or Edge version.
- It inspects the page in front of you and does not crawl a whole site.
- The developer has not identified itself as a trader, so EU consumer rights do not apply, as the store listing notes.
- It is a one-person project; feature requests and bug reports go to the developer by email or X.
Web Developer
- The latest release, 3.0.1, dates from June 2024; the developer works on it in spare time and gives no release dates.
- The Opera version is much older, version 0.2.2 from February 2017.
- The Firefox version lacks the disable features, Display Style Information and the context menu, because Firefox removed the APIs.
- It is a general web developer toolbox, with no search or ranking data; its SEO uses are page-level checks.
Key features
META SEO inspector
- Metadata with length checks
- Shows titles and descriptions with their character counts, canonicals and meta robots, and flags tags that are missing, cut off or too long.
- Headings and image alt text
- Lists the H1 to H6 headings in order and the ALT text of the page's images.
- Social tags and JSON-LD
- Displays Open Graph and Twitter tags and extracts the page's full JSON-LD schema in one click.
- Broken link checker
- A newly added checker tests the page's links; the store listing also counts internal and unique links.
- Docked side panel
- The inspector can stay open in Chrome's side panel while you browse, with dark or light and compact or comfortable themes.
- Exports and print reports
- Export meta values or a dataset, print a report, and jump to outside site testers and safety checkers from the panel.
Web Developer
- Image and attribute checks
- Display alt attributes, image dimensions and title attributes on the page, replace images with their alt text, and find broken images.
- Outline and element information
- Outline elements with optional labels, show hidden elements and tag names, and inspect an element's details as you point at it.
- Validators
- Send the page to online HTML and accessibility validators from the toolbar; the help says these third-party features are the only ones that pass data on.
- Edit CSS and print styles
- Edit a page's CSS live in a panel, view print styles, and hide background or all images to see the page without them.
- Cookies, forms and JavaScript
- View, add and edit cookies, view form information, populate form fields, remove form validation and view a page's JavaScript.
- Rulers and responsive layouts
- A ruler, line guides and a color picker, plus responsive layout previews and resize sizes you configure yourself.
Plans
META SEO inspector
Free$0
Every feature, with no account needed; optional donations to the developer.
Web Developer
Free$0
Every tool in the extension, free on all four browsers, with optional donations to the developer.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, META SEO inspector or Web Developer?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both META SEO inspector and Web Developer are free to use.
Which has a free plan, META SEO inspector or Web Developer?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both META SEO inspector and Web Developer have a free plan.
More comparisons
- META SEO inspector vs Detailed SEO Extension
- META SEO inspector vs SEO META in 1 CLICK
- META SEO inspector vs SEOquake
- META SEO inspector vs HeadingsMap
- META SEO inspector vs SEO Pro Extension
- Web Developer vs SEOquake
- Web Developer vs Detailed SEO Extension
- Web Developer vs View Rendered Source
- Web Developer vs HeadingsMap
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.