SEO King vs Smart SEO (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 24, 2026, we pick SEO King: it is second in our ranking of SEO plugins and apps, and it grades higher too, 2.6 against 2.4.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
SEO King grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
SEO King
Shopify SEO app with unlimited AI meta text and image optimization
Smart SEO
Shopify SEO app for AI meta tags, image optimization and JSON-LD
Which one is for you
Pick SEO King if
- Fits if you run a Shopify store and want AI meta text without counting credits
- Works for large catalogs, since 20,000 pages is $16.99 a month
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if your store isn't on Shopify, as that's the only place it installs
- Tight if you stay free, because AI text, bulk photo work, robots.txt and llms.txt are all paid
- Watch out: alt text read from the photo itself is about $1 per 400 photos, and translation and upscaling also use prepaid credits
- Pricey if you want it done for you, as the Full-Service tier is $95 a month or $595 a year, with no theme work
Pick Smart SEO if
- Fits if you want meta tags and alt text written in bulk across a Shopify store
- Works for small stores wanting JSON-LD and IndexNow from $14.99 a month
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free, with 20 AI generations, 50 images and 100 pages checked
- Watch out: the 7-day trial keeps the free plan's quotas, and full quotas start only once billing does
- Pricey if you go past your quota, as Pro bills 10¢ per AI generation and 1¢ per image or page
- Watch out: bulk AI tags, file names and other languages need Business; automatic broken-link fixes need Premium
- Skip it if your store isn't on Shopify, as it runs nowhere else
How we grade them
| 2.6GPASEO KingGood | 2.4GPASmart SEOFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$9.99 every 30 days for up to 500 pages, a little above the $8.25 where this category's cheaper quarter ends. Yearly billing brings it to $69.99, about $5.83 a month, and the 20,000-page tier is $16.99 a month. Vision AI and translation cost extra. | CPro is $14.99 a month, above this category's $10.99 middle, or $149.90 a year. Use beyond the quota is billed on top: on Pro, 10¢ an AI generation and 1¢ an image or page. |
| Free plan and trial | BThe free basics have no stated cap: alt text, meta title and description edits, photo renaming and compression, a store scan and Search Console stats. A small store could run on that. What's missing is any AI text, bulk photo work, robots.txt and llms.txt. | CMeta and alt tags and sitemap and noindex controls, with 20 AI generations, 50 images, 100 link-checked pages and a 20-page audit. Caps you'll reach quickly. |
| Features | BStore scans with a fix checklist, image compression, JSON-LD with FAQ markup, image sitemaps, robots.txt and llms.txt, broken links and redirects, rank tracking and SEO text in 40+ languages. Nothing in the listing leaves a gap in the job; tiers differ only in pages covered. | BAI meta, alt text and descriptions, image compression, JSON-LD, speed options, sitemap and noindex controls, IndexNow, broken-link checks with 404 logs, backlinks, llms.txt and MCP. It covers the whole job across four plans. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. It installs from the Shopify App Store, but you connect Search Console, work through the checklist and choose what the AI rewrites and keeps updated. | CNo rating on record. It installs from the Shopify App Store, but every plan is a set of quotas to keep an eye on, and bulk AI writing waits on Business. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, inside the Shopify admin, with Google Search Console, Google Merchant Center, Easy Watermarks and Swap Photo Editor, and AI writing through MCP. No phone or desktop app, and nothing for stores off Shopify. | BWeb only, inside Shopify. It connects to Search Console, Shopify Sidekick, ChatGPT, Claude and IndexNow, and works with Judge.me and Loox. |
| Best for | AI meta text on a Shopify store, priced by page count | AI meta tags and alt text for Shopify |
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: SEO King and Smart SEO. How we grade
Price against what you get
SEO King starts at $9.99 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Smart SEO starts at $14.99 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and SEO King starts $5 a month lower. Of the other SEO plugins and apps on the chart, 1 scores higher than SEO King for less, and 1 scores higher than Smart SEO 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
- SEO King also covers keyword research, rank tracking and content optimization.
- Smart SEO also covers backlink analysis, AI search visibility and page speed.
At a glance
| SEO King | Smart SEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $9.99 per month for up to 500 pages, billed every 30 days | $14.99 per month, billed every 30 days |
| Free plan | Free basics: unlimited alt text, meta title and meta description updates, photo renaming and optimization, a store scan, and Search Console and keyword analytics. No AI text. | Meta and alt tag optimization, sitemap and noindex controls, 20 AI generations, 50 images optimized, 100 pages link-checked and a 20-page SEO audit. |
| Free trial | None listed | 7-day free trial of paid plans, limited to the free plan's quotas until billing starts |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Engage Apps | Sherpas Design |
| Price read from | apps.shopify.com | apps.shopify.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
SEO King
- Works only on Shopify stores; it is installed from the Shopify App Store.
- AI text, auto-updating, bulk photo work, robots.txt, llms.txt and advanced JSON-LD all need a paid tier; tiers differ only in pages covered.
- Vision AI, translation, upscaling and background removal are paid per use from prepaid credits, or by an optional unlimited AI credits plan.
- A done-for-you Full-Service tier with expert setup and monthly strategy calls costs $95 a month or $595 a year, without theme work.
Smart SEO
- Works only on Shopify stores; it is installed from the Shopify App Store.
- The 7-day trial keeps the free plan's quotas (20 AI generations, 50 images, 100 pages); full quotas start once billing begins.
- Use beyond a plan's quota is billed: on Pro, 10¢ per AI generation, 1¢ per page checked and 1¢ per image, with lower rates on higher plans.
- Bulk AI tags, image file names, backlinks and multi-language need Business; automatic broken-link fixes and your own AI key need Premium.
Key features
SEO King
- Unlimited AI meta text
- Paid plans write meta titles, meta descriptions, alt text and product descriptions with GPT and Gemini models, with no credit limit, and can keep them updated.
- Image optimization
- Compresses, resizes, converts and renames photos without a meter. Vision AI alt text from the photo itself is pay-per-use, about $1 per 400 photos.
- Store scan and SEO checklist
- Scans the store for SEO issues on every plan and lists fixes in a checklist and dashboard; changes can be previewed before they go live.
- JSON-LD, sitemaps and robots.txt
- Advanced JSON-LD schemas including FAQ markup, image sitemaps, and robots.txt and llms.txt editing on paid plans.
- Keywords and SERP rankings
- Google Search Console stats and site keyword analytics on every plan, with SERP rank tracking and a page tracker in the app.
- Links, redirects and translation
- Finds broken links and 404 errors, manages redirects and URL rewriting, and writes SEO text in more than 40 languages.
Smart SEO
- AI meta tags, alt text and descriptions
- Writes titles, meta descriptions, alt text and product descriptions with AI: 20 generations free, then 200, 500 or 1,200 by plan. Bulk AI writing starts at Business.
- Image optimization
- Compresses images, 50 on the free plan and 1,000 to 5,000 on paid plans, with bulk optimization from Pro and SEO-friendly file names from Business.
- JSON-LD and page speed
- From Pro, adds JSON-LD structured data for Google and AI tools and page speed options; it can also strip a theme's old microdata.
- Indexing controls
- Sitemap and noindex tag controls on every plan, with IndexNow submissions from Pro to tell search engines about new and changed pages.
- Broken links and backlinks
- Checks pages for broken links, logs 404 hits from Pro, adds a backlinks report from Business and fixes broken links automatically on Premium.
- LLM catalog and MCP
- Pro publishes llms.txt and Agents.md catalogs of a store's products, and connects Google Search Console data to AI agents over MCP and Shopify Sidekick.
Plans
SEO King
Free basics$0
Unlimited alt text, meta title and meta description updates, photo renaming and optimization, store scans and Search Console analytics.
500 Pages$9.99
per month for up to 500 pages, billed every 30 days
All features: unlimited AI text, auto-updating, bulk photo optimization, the fast SEO editor, robots.txt, llms.txt and advanced JSON-LD.
5,000 Pages$13.99
per month for up to 5,000 pages, billed every 30 days
The same features as 500 Pages, for stores with up to 5,000 pages.
20,000 Pages$16.99
per month for up to 20,000 pages, billed every 30 days
The same features as 500 Pages, for stores with up to 20,000 pages.
Smart SEO
Free$0
Meta and alt tags, sitemap, noindex tags, 20 AI generations, 50 images, 100 pages link-checked and a 20-page automatic audit.
Pro$14.99
per month, billed every 30 days
200 AI generations, 1,000 images and 1,000 link-check pages, JSON-LD, IndexNow, page speed, llms.txt, bulk editing and Search Console with MCP.
Business$24.99
per month, billed every 30 days
500 AI generations, 3,000 images, 2,500 pages, AI bulk meta and alt tags, image file names, backlinks, multiple languages and 500-page audits.
Premium$49.99
per month, billed every 30 days
1,200 AI generations, 5,000 images, 6,000 pages, unlimited audits, automatic broken-link fixes, a choice of AI model or your own key, premium support.
Ways to pay less
SEO King
- Annual discount
Save up to 52% with yearly billing
The listing offers the 500-page tier at $69.99 a year (42% off), 5,000 pages at $79.99 (52%) and 20,000 pages at $99.99 (51%).
Smart SEO
- Annual discount
Save 17% with yearly billing
The listing offers Pro at $149.90 a year, Business at $249.90 and Premium at $499.90, which it says saves 17% against monthly billing.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, SEO King or Smart SEO?
As of Oct 23, 2026, SEO King is cheaper to start with: $9.99 a month, against $14.99 a month for Smart SEO. SEO King starts at $9.99 per month for up to 500 pages, billed every 30 days, and Smart SEO starts at $14.99 per month, billed every 30 days.
Which has a free plan, SEO King or Smart SEO?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both SEO King and Smart SEO 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.