OpenSEO vs SE Ranking (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, OpenSEO grades higher than SE Ranking: 2.8 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
OpenSEO grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
OpenSEO
Open-source, usage-priced SEO platform built for AI agents
SE Ranking
SEO platform for rank tracking, audits, research and AI visibility
Which one is for you
Pick OpenSEO if
- Fits if you already do your SEO work through Claude, Codex or another AI agent
- Works for developers who want to self-host or build on open-source SEO code
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you research a lot, as $10 of usage is about 200 keyword searches and more is bought as top-ups
- Watch out: plan credits reset each billing cycle, and top-ups only work while you have an active subscription
- Watch out: the hosted service adds a 28% fee on DataForSEO requests
- Skip it if you want self-hosting to be free, as you still pay DataForSEO, with a $50 minimum top-up
- Skip it if you need AI tracking beyond ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews
Pick SE Ranking if
- Fits if you track lots of keywords daily across several client sites
- Works for small marketing teams who want research, audits and tracking under one login
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you're one person with one site, as Core is $103.20 a month even on yearly billing and there's no lower plan
- Tight if you need old data, since Core keeps 6 months of history and has 1 manager seat; extra seats start at $16 a month
- Pricey if you want white-label reports, as the Agency Pack is $69 a month extra and sold on yearly billing only
- Watch out: deeper AI search tracking is an add-on at $71.20 a month on yearly billing ($89 monthly)
- Watch out: payments are non-refundable unless the service wasn't delivered as promised, and there's no desktop or phone app
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAOpenSEOGood | 2.2GPASE RankingFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A$10 a month with $10 of usage included, under 60% of this category's cheaper quarter. The vendor's estimate is about $0.05 per keyword search and $0.08 per domain overview. Heavier use is bought as top-ups, with a 28% fee on DataForSEO requests. | DCore is $103.20 a month billed yearly ($129 monthly), and it's the lowest self-serve plan. That's well above this category's middle, for one manager seat with 10 projects and 2,000 keywords tracked daily; extra seats start at $16. |
| Free plan and trial | CSelf-hosting is free, but you pay DataForSEO for the data, with a $50 minimum top-up. The hosted trial gives $0.50 of credits with no card, about ten keyword searches. | CNo free plan, but the 14-day trial needs no card and allows 10 projects, 750 keywords and 20 AI prompts a day. Payments are non-refundable after that, so use the trial properly. |
| Features | BKeyword research, domain and backlink research, rank tracking by location and device, site audits, AI answer tracking and an MCP server for agents, all on one plan. It covers the whole job, though AI tracking names only ChatGPT, Gemini and AI Overviews. | BDaily rank tracking with share of voice, keyword, competitor and backlink research with no caps on either plan, audits of 250,000 pages a month, reports, listings in 100+ directories, AI answer tracking and API credits. The whole job. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. The web app and agents both run on usage credits you'll want to watch, and self-hosting means Docker or Cloudflare plus a DataForSEO key. | CNo rating on record. Projects, keyword lists and reports all need setting up before the tool pays off. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, connected to Search Console, DataForSEO, Claude, ChatGPT, Codex, Cursor and Gemini through its MCP server. No desktop or phone app. | BWeb only, connected to Looker Studio, Google Analytics, Search Console, Matomo, n8n, Make and Claude, with 25,000 API credits a month and MCP on Core. No desktop or phone app. |
| Best for | SEO research through AI agents like Claude | tracking rankings across many client sites |
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: OpenSEO and SE Ranking. How we grade
Price against what you get
OpenSEO starts at $10 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. SE Ranking starts at $103.20 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and OpenSEO starts $93.20 a month lower. Of the other SEO tools on the chart, none scores higher than OpenSEO for less, and none scores higher than SE Ranking 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
- OpenSEO is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- OpenSEO also covers AI search visibility.
- SE Ranking also covers reports.
At a glance
| OpenSEO | SE Ranking | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $10 per month, including $10 of usage | $103.20 per month, billed annually ($129 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Self-hosted: the open-source app is free to run with Docker or on Cloudflare, but you bring your own DataForSEO API key and pay DataForSEO for the data. | None |
| Free trial | Free trial with $0.50 of usage credits, no credit card required | 14-day free trial, no credit card required; 10 projects, 750 keywords and 20 AI prompts a day |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Every App, Inc. | SER Acquisition Inc. |
| Price read from | openseo.so | seranking.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
OpenSEO
- The $10 plan covers $10 of usage a month; the vendor estimates about $0.05 per keyword search, $0.08 per domain overview and $0.002 per AI prompt check.
- Usage credits in the plan reset each billing cycle; only bought top-up credits roll over, and using them still needs an active subscription.
- Self-hosting needs your own DataForSEO account, with a $50 minimum top-up; the hosted service adds a 28% fee on DataForSEO requests.
- AI visibility tracking names ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews; the site lists no other AI engines.
SE Ranking
- Core keeps only 6 months of historical data and includes 1 manager seat; extra seats start at $16 a month.
- White-label reports need the Agency Pack, $69 a month and sold on annual billing only.
- Deeper AI search tracking is an add-on at $71.20 a month billed annually ($89 billed monthly).
- Payments are non-refundable except where the service was not delivered as promised.
Key features
OpenSEO
- Keyword research
- Keyword ideas with search volume, difficulty, intent and live SERPs, saved into keyword lists for content planning and tracking.
- Domain overview and backlinks
- Estimate any domain's organic traffic and ranking keywords, and inspect its backlinks, referring domains and link quality.
- Rank tracking
- Track keywords by domain and location, optionally on desktop and mobile, with the ranking URL, position changes and SERP features.
- Site audit
- Crawls a site's pages and lists technical and page-level SEO problems.
- AI visibility and Prompt Explorer
- Research prompts, then track brand mentions, cited pages and competitors in ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews, and compare answers across models.
- MCP server and agent skills
- Connect Claude, Codex, ChatGPT and other agents; skills for audits, keyword and competitor research save their findings as reports in the app.
SE Ranking
- Rank Tracker
- Track rankings daily across major search engines, devices and locations, with Google top-100 tracking and share of voice.
- Keyword, competitor and backlink research
- Research keywords, competitors' traffic and backlinks with no usage caps on either plan, plus backlink monitoring.
- Website audit
- Crawl sites for technical issues, from 250,000 pages a month on Core to 2 million on Growth, with an on-page checker.
- AI visibility tracking
- Track 100 or 250 prompts a day across five AI models, with AI source tracking and AI competitor research by domain.
- Reports and local SEO
- Report Builder (10 or 30 reports), and local tools covering 3 locations, map rank tracking and listings in 100+ directories.
- API and MCP
- Plans include 25,000 or 100,000 research API credits a month and MCP access for querying the data from AI assistants.
Plans
OpenSEO
Self-hosted$0
The open-source app, hosted yourself with Docker or on Cloudflare. You pay DataForSEO directly for data; its minimum top-up is $50.
Base Plan$10
per month, including $10 of usage
Every feature, with $10 of usage credits each month. Extra credits can be bought at any time and never expire; Search Console data uses no credits.
SE Ranking
Core$103.20
per month, billed annually ($129 billed monthly)
1 manager seat, 10 projects, 2,000 keywords and 100 AI prompts tracked daily, 250,000 audit pages a month and 6 months of history.
Growth$223.20
per month, billed annually ($279 billed monthly)
3 manager seats, 30 projects, 5,000 keywords and 250 prompts daily, 2 million audit pages, all-time history and guest links.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom limits and terms, full API and advanced integrations, through sales.
Ways to pay less
OpenSEO
No public discounts listed.
SE Ranking
- Annual discount
Save 20% with annual billing
SE Ranking's pricing page lists Core at $103.20 a month billed annually instead of $129 monthly, and Growth at $223.20 instead of $279.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, OpenSEO or SE Ranking?
As of Oct 23, 2026, OpenSEO is cheaper to start with: $10 a month, against $103.20 a month for SE Ranking. OpenSEO starts at $10 per month, including $10 of usage, and SE Ranking starts at $103.20 per month, billed annually ($129 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, OpenSEO or SE Ranking?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only OpenSEO has a free plan. SE Ranking 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.