SEO Utils vs SerpBear (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, SEO Utils and SerpBear share a 2.2 GPA, and only SerpBear has a free plan.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
SEO Utils grades higher on value for money and ease of use. SerpBear grades higher on the free plan. 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.
SEO Utils
Desktop SEO toolkit sold for a one-time fee, with AI search tracking
From $69 one-time
SerpBear
Free open-source Google rank tracker that you host yourself
Free
Which one is for you
Pick SEO Utils if
- Fits if you'd rather pay once for a desktop app than pay for an SEO suite every month
- Works for people who already pay DataForSEO for search data and want an app on top
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want to try it first, as there's no free plan or trial on record
- Watch out: keyword, backlink, traffic and AI answer data are billed to your own DataForSEO account
- Pricey if you want it in a browser or on a phone, as Remote Access is $5.99 a month plus $1.99 per extra seat
- Skip it if you want a technical site audit, as none is on record beyond Search Console and internal link checks
- Watch out: updates stop after a year unless you renew, an expired key can't move to another computer, and MCP is $59.99 extra
Pick SerpBear if
- Fits if you're comfortable running a Docker app and want unlimited Google keywords for the price of a scraper
- Works for small sites that want Google positions next to their Search Console visits
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you don't want to run a server, as there's no hosted version from the developer, only paid one-click hosts
- Skip it if you need Bing, other engines or AI answers tracked, as it tracks Google only
- Watch out: past ScrapingRobot's free 5,000 searches it's $1.80 per 1,000, and deeper positions take several requests per keyword
- Tight if you want email alerts or keyword research, which need your own SMTP settings and a Google Ads test account
How we grade them
| 2.2GPASEO UtilsFair | 2.2GPASerpBearFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A$69 once, with a year of updates, and you keep the last version after that. That's well under a year of this category's middle subscription. Data is paid for through your own DataForSEO account on top, with AI tracking at about $1.20 per 1,000 queries. | CThe app is free under the MIT license with no paid edition, but it's only free if you host it, which needs a server or a paid one-click host. Checks run through a scraper: ScrapingRobot's free tier is 5,000 searches a month, then $1.80 per 1,000. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing free on record: no free plan and no trial. You pay the $69 before you can try it. | BNothing to pay SerpBear, with unlimited sites and keywords. ScrapingRobot's free tier covers 5,000 searches a month, but deeper positions take several requests each: 20 keywords near position 30, checked daily, use about 1,800. |
| Features | CRank tracking on Google, Bing and Maps grids, AI answer tracking, keyword research and clustering, backlink lookups, Search Console analysis, internal link suggestions and log files. The gaps: the search data needs a DataForSEO account, and there's no technical site audit on record. | CUnlimited Google tracking with a choice of how many result pages to check, Search Console visits, keyword ideas and volumes, email reports, CSV export and an API. The gap: it tracks Google only, with no other engine on record. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. You install the app, but keyword, backlink and AI answer data only arrive once you open and fund a DataForSEO account and connect it. | DNo rating on record. You deploy it with Docker or on a server, add scraper keys, and set up your own SMTP for email alerts and a Google Ads test account for keyword research. |
| Platforms and integrations | BPrograms for Mac, Windows and Linux, connected to Search Console, GA4, WordPress, Claude, n8n, Make and Zapier. A browser or phone needs Remote Access at $5.99 a month, and there's no phone app of its own. | BWeb only, as an app you host yourself. It works with ScrapingRobot, SerpApi and other scrapers or your own proxies, plus Search Console and Google Ads, and has a built-in API for reporting tools. |
| Best for | a desktop SEO toolkit you pay for once | free self-hosted Google rank tracking |
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 Utils and SerpBear. How we grade
Where they differ
- SEO Utils can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- SerpBear is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- SEO Utils also covers backlink analysis, AI search visibility, internal linking and log file analysis.
In commonKeyword researchRank tracking
At a glance
| SEO Utils | SerpBear | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free |
| Starts at | $69 one-time, with one year of updates | Free |
| Free plan | None | The whole app is free under the MIT license with unlimited domains and keywords; you pay only the scraping service you connect, if it charges. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | SEO Utils | Towfiq I. |
| Price read from | seoutils.app | docs.serpbear.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
SEO Utils
- Backlink, traffic, keyword and AI answer data come from your own DataForSEO account, billed separately; AI tracking costs about $1.20 per 1,000 queries.
- Using the app from a browser or phone needs Remote Access at $5.99 a month for 1 seat, plus $1.99 a month for each extra seat.
- The MCP server for Claude and other AI clients is a separate $59.99 one-time purchase.
- Updates stop after a year unless the license is renewed, and an expired key cannot be activated on another computer.
SerpBear
- You host and maintain it yourself; there is no hosted service from the developer, only paid one-click hosts such as PikaPods and Elestio.
- Positions come from a scraper: ScrapingRobot's free tier covers 5,000 searches a month, then $1.80 per 1,000; other services charge their own rates.
- Most scrapers now need several requests per keyword for deeper positions: 20 keywords near position 30, checked daily, take about 1,800 a month.
- It tracks Google only. Keyword research needs a Google Ads test account, and email alerts need your own SMTP settings.
Key features
SEO Utils
- Organic Rank Tracker
- Track unlimited keywords on Google or Bing, on desktop and mobile, with 10+ SERP features and competitor benchmarks, and sync GA4 conversions by page.
- LLM Rank Tracker
- Checks whether Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT (with and without web search) and Gemini mention or cite a brand, with sentiment and competitors.
- Google Maps tracking and citations
- Grid-based Google Business Profile rank tracking in square, circle or custom shapes, plus a finder for inconsistent name, address and phone listings.
- Keyword research and clustering
- Keyword Explorer for Google and Bing, local semantic clustering with no keyword limit, and SERP clustering for up to 200,000 keywords.
- Search Console tools
- Keeps Search Console data beyond Google's 16-month limit, flags cannibalization, runs SEO split tests and submits URLs for indexing in bulk.
- Internal links and log files
- Suggests new internal links with the sentence to add, applied to WordPress on approval, and reads server logs for Googlebot, Bingbot and AI crawlers.
SerpBear
- Unlimited domains and keywords
- Add as many sites and keywords as you like; the only limit is how many searches your scraper or proxies allow.
- Scrape strategies
- Basic, Custom or Smart strategies, set globally or per domain, decide how many Google pages are checked for each keyword.
- Choice of scraper
- Works with ScrapingRobot, SerpApi, SearchApi, Serper, Serply, ValueSerp, ScrapingAnt, CrazySerp or your own proxy IPs.
- Search Console data
- Shows real visits and impressions for each tracked keyword and surfaces new keywords, top countries and top pages.
- Keyword research
- Linking a Google Ads test account adds monthly search volumes and keyword ideas generated from your site's content.
- Alerts, API and CSV
- Daily, weekly or monthly email reports of position changes, CSV export, and a built-in API for reporting tools such as Google Data Studio.
Plans
SEO Utils
Desktop License Key$69
one-time, with one year of updates
Every feature of the app on your own computer. After the year of updates you can keep using the last version you received.
SerpBear
Self-hosted$0
Open-source app you run yourself with Docker or from the GitHub source, with a SQLite database and no paid edition.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, SEO Utils or SerpBear?
As of Oct 23, 2026, SEO Utils starts at $69 one-time, with one year of updates, and SerpBear is free.
Which has a free plan, SEO Utils or SerpBear?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only SerpBear has a free plan. SEO Utils does not.
Which platforms do SEO Utils and SerpBear run on?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only SEO Utils lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps and only SerpBear lists a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
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.