Screaming Frog is a desktop SEO crawler that many teams use for technical audits, URL extraction, and exports. If you are looking for alternatives, it usually means you want a different balance of scale, collaboration, reporting, or workflow integration. As a reference point, its free mode is published with a 500 URL crawl limit, and paid licenses are published from €245/year (for 1–4 licenses).[Source-1✅]
Many “alternatives” are not trying to be identical. Some focus on a desktop-first experience, others on cloud audits and collaboration, and some are built for enterprise crawling across very large sites.
Table of Contents
Alternatives Overview
This table focuses on published crawl/audit units and pricing signals. Numbers are pulled from each vendor’s own pages so you can compare without guessing. One tool can still be a great fit even if its limits are measured differently, so treat this as a starting map.
| Tool | Category | What It Usually Optimizes For | Published Limits / Pricing Signals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sitebulb | Desktop + Cloud | Visual audits, prioritized hints, comparisons, optional cloud collaboration | Desktop plans publish 10,000 URLs per audit (Lite) and 500,000 URLs per audit (Pro). The vendor also notes Cloud plans “starting from £95/month” and scaling for larger teams.[Source-2✅] |
| Netpeak Spider | Desktop | Technical crawling with segmentation, exports, and optional JS rendering | Pricing page lists Free crawling at 500 URLs, while Pro lists unlimited URLs and higher threads; it also publishes paid options including $20 monthly, $193 yearly, and a $496 lifetime option (shown for a single user selection).[Source-3✅] |
| Website Auditor | Desktop | Audits + reporting inside an SEO toolkit workflow | License page publishes annual pricing that includes a $149/year Professional option and a $299/year Enterprise option (among other package choices).[Source-4✅] |
| Semrush Site Audit | Cloud | Repeatable audits, scheduled recrawls, dashboards, team access | The vendor describes 140+ checks, and publishes a per-audit crawl size of up to 20,000 pages (with 100,000 pages per audit for a Business tier).[Source-5✅] |
| Ahrefs Site Audit | Cloud | Audits inside an all-in-one research platform | Pricing page publishes plan pricing and crawl units, including $129/mo (Lite) with 100,000 crawl credits, $249/mo (Standard) with 500,000 crawl credits, and $449/mo (Advanced) with 1,500,000 crawl credits (plus an Enterprise tier shown at $1,499/mo).[Source-6✅] |
| SE Ranking | Cloud | Website audit paired with rank tracking and client workflows | The pricing page publishes plan pricing (for example, $65/mo, $119/mo, $259/mo shown “billed annually”) and website audit quotas such as 100k / 250k / 1M pages per account plus 15,000 / 40,000 / unlimited pages per project (depending on plan).[Source-7✅] |
| JetOctopus | Cloud / Scale | Large crawls + log analysis in one place | The pricing page presents volume-based packages using units like crawl pages, JavaScript pages, and log lines (for example: 1,000,000 crawl pages and 1,000,000 log lines in a published tier).[Source-8✅] |
| Oncrawl | Enterprise | Data-driven technical SEO for large sites and teams | Pricing is presented as plan-based / custom with enterprise positioning (request-based evaluation).[Source-9✅] |
| Lumar | Enterprise | Website optimization program at enterprise scale | Positioned as an enterprise platform for site optimization and monitoring across multiple areas (offered via request/demo flow).[Source-10✅] |
How Screaming Frog Typically Fits Into a Workflow
Where Desktop Crawlers Shine
- Hands-on debugging: filter, segment, and export quickly while you inspect URLs.
- Repeatable exports: status codes, canonicals, internal links, headings, metadata.
- Local control: settings, speed, and storage live on your machine.
Where Cloud Audits Usually Help
- Team access: share projects, notes, and progress without shipping files around.
- Automation: scheduled recrawls and dashboards for ongoing monitoring.
- Consistency: standardized checks across many sites and stakeholders.
If your primary goal is a familiar desktop feel, start with desktop crawler alternatives. If your primary goal is collaboration, scheduled audits, or quotas measured in pages/credits, focus on cloud audits. Very large sites often benefit from enterprise platforms that blend crawling with logs and deeper segmentation.
Desktop Crawler Alternatives
These options are most relevant when you want a local application for crawling and analysis, plus the ability to move data into spreadsheets, tickets, or client reports.
Sitebulb
Often chosen for its visual auditing style and issue prioritization. It tends to be a natural pick when you want audits that feel structured and easy to explain, especially when sharing findings with non-SEO roles.
- Good fit for consultants and teams that need clearer “why it matters” context.
- Notable angle: comparisons and ongoing audit workflows (especially if you use recurring audits).
Netpeak Spider
Useful when you like fast filtering and segmentation and want a crawler built around dashboards, issues, and exports. It’s commonly paired with spreadsheet-centric workflows.
- Good fit when you want many export formats and structured reports.
- Notable angle: JS rendering options plus segment-by-segment analysis.
Website Auditor
A practical option if you prefer an SEO suite approach and want audits to live alongside reporting and other toolkit-style tasks. Many users like having one environment for repeated client deliverables.
- Good fit for agencies that want an integrated desktop workflow.
- Notable angle: license-based ownership model rather than usage credits.
Cloud Site Audit Alternatives
Cloud tools are popular when you need repeatable auditing, scheduled crawls, and dashboards that can be shared with a team. Limits are usually measured in pages or credits, not “URL rows in a desktop file.”
Semrush Site Audit
Best when you want audits to be scheduled, visible to multiple stakeholders, and tied to broader marketing workflows. It’s often chosen as a “living” audit that supports ongoing maintenance.
- Good fit for teams that want consistent check sets across many sites.
- Watch for: plan limits measured in pages per audit and per subscription tier.
Ahrefs Site Audit
Often selected when audits are part of a wider research and analysis toolkit. If your workflow already lives in the same ecosystem, audits can feel like one piece of a larger cycle.
- Good fit for teams that want audits plus SEO research in one subscription.
- Watch for: usage tracked as crawl credits that vary by plan.
SE Ranking
A strong candidate when you want website audit quotas alongside client workflows such as rank tracking and reporting. Quotas are clearly expressed, which helps when you need predictable monthly planning.
- Good fit for agencies that manage many smaller sites with consistent reporting.
- Watch for: separate limits per account and per project.
Enterprise Crawling Platforms
Enterprise platforms are typically chosen for very large sites, complex segmentation, and cross-team collaboration. They often blend crawling with log analysis or broader site-quality monitoring, and pricing is commonly request-based.
JetOctopus
Commonly evaluated when you want crawl scale and log workflows in a single platform. Limits are expressed in units like crawl pages and log lines, which fits high-volume planning.
- Good fit for large sites where logs and crawl behavior matter day-to-day.
- Notable angle: clearly unit-based packaging.
Oncrawl
Often considered for data-heavy technical SEO where teams need repeatability, segmentation, and collaboration. It tends to be compared against other enterprise platforms rather than desktop crawlers.
- Good fit for organizations with multiple stakeholders and structured QA cycles.
- Notable angle: enterprise planning and governance support.
Lumar
Frequently evaluated as a website optimization platform that supports continuous site quality improvements. It typically aligns with teams that want a long-running program, not just one-off crawls.
- Good fit for enterprise teams that run ongoing initiatives across many templates and markets.
- Notable angle: platform mindset and organization-wide reporting.
How to Choose Without Overthinking It
If you already know why you are switching, your best option is usually obvious. If not, decide based on the constraint that matters most: scale, collaboration, or ownership model.
- If you need a local app and hands-on analysis, pick a desktop crawler style tool.
- If you need scheduled monitoring and shared dashboards, pick a cloud audit tool.
- If your site size or team complexity is the main issue, shortlist enterprise platforms and compare limits, logs, and governance.
- Finally, align quotas with reality: your largest site section (templates) and your crawl frequency usually define cost.
A practical way to test fit: run one crawl on a representative site section (not just the homepage). Then check whether you can segment results, export in your preferred format, and communicate issues clearly to the next person in the chain.
Limits and Data Models to Compare Fairly
Two tools can both feel “powerful” while measuring limits differently. Understanding the unit makes comparisons far more accurate, especially when budgeting or planning recurring audits.
| Limit Unit | Where You Usually See It | What It Typically Controls |
|---|---|---|
| URLs per audit | Desktop crawlers | How many discovered URLs are processed in a single crawl database. |
| Pages per audit | Cloud site audits | How many pages a project can analyze in one audit run. |
| Monthly quotas | Cloud subscriptions | How many pages/projects/recrawls you can run across a billing cycle. |
| Crawl credits | Some platforms with multi-tool usage | Usage across tools, often pooled by plan and consumed by crawling. |
| JavaScript pages | Platforms with rendering | How many pages can be rendered/executed with JS before analysis. |
| Log lines | Log analysis platforms | How much server log data can be processed for crawl behavior insights. |
What to Check Before You Commit
- Rendering needs: do you need JavaScript execution, and is it included or metered?
- Segmentation: can you isolate templates, directories, languages, or parameter patterns quickly?
- Exports: can you deliver clean CSV/XLSX to developers and stakeholders without extra cleanup?
- Automation: if you want weekly checks, confirm scheduling, notifications, and retention.
Pricing and Ownership Patterns You Will See
Per-Seat Licensing
Common with desktop tools. It can be a comfortable model when your main cost driver is people, not crawl volume. Budgets are easier to forecast.
Usage Quotas
Common with cloud audits. You pay for pages, credits, or monthly capacity. This works well when crawl volume is tied to business cadence and you want ongoing monitoring.
Enterprise Contracts
Typical for large sites and complex organizations. Focus on governance, collaboration, and reliability. The evaluation usually centers on scale, retention, and cross-team adoption.
When the choice is close, pick the tool whose limits match your real crawl rhythm. One monthly audit across a medium site is a different pattern than daily monitoring across many site sections. The right option is the one that makes that pattern feel effortless.
Are Cloud Auditors a Direct Replacement for a Desktop Crawler?
They can be, depending on your workflow. Cloud tools are strong for scheduled monitoring and shared dashboards, while desktop crawlers often feel faster for hands-on debugging and ad-hoc exports.
Why Do Some Tools Talk About “Pages” and Others About “URLs”?
It is mostly a measurement choice. “URLs per audit” is common in desktop apps, while cloud platforms often track “pages per audit” or monthly quotas for planning and billing.
Do These Alternatives Support JavaScript Rendering?
Many do. The key question is whether rendering is included, limited by a separate quota, or measured in its own unit (for example, JS pages). Always confirm this if your site relies on client-side rendering.
What Should I Pick for Very Large Sites?
For high-scale needs, enterprise crawling platforms often provide the smoothest experience. They typically offer stronger segmentation, collaboration, and long-term monitoring, which matters when many people act on the results.
What Export Formats Matter Most for Real Work?
For most teams, clean CSV/XLSX exports are still the backbone. If you deliver to developers, check whether you can export filtered segments and include the fields your team actually uses (status, canonicals, internal links, templates, depth).
Is There a “One Tool for Everything” Option?
Sometimes, yes. Suites can reduce context switching, while specialist tools can feel sharper for a specific job. A balanced approach is common: one primary crawler/auditor plus another tool for research or reporting.