Best Alternatives to SpyFu for SEO Analysis

SpyFu is a popular SEO and competitor research tool. SEO professionals, marketers, and business owners rely on SpyFu to uncover competitors’ keywords, analyze PPC campaigns, and track backlinks. 

It’s a great option to help plan out your SEO strategy. 

However, some users find it expensive or lacking in certain functionalities. Fortunately, various powerful alternatives exist—each with unique strengths tailored to different SEO needs.

If you’re looking for Spyfu free alternatives or a need additional features, here are 7 popular alternatives to Spyfu: 

Criteria for Choosing a SpyFu Alternative

When selecting a free SpyFu alternative, consider the following:

• Keyword research capabilities: The ability to analyze search volume, competition, and trends. A quality SEO tool should provide accurate keyword difficulty scores, search trends over time, and related keyword suggestions to build a well-rounded SEO strategy.
• Competitive analysis features: Insights into competitor keywords, PPC campaigns, and organic traffic. A strong alternative to SpyFu should track competitor rankings, analyze their top-performing pages, and evaluate ad spending patterns. 
• Backlink tracking: Monitoring backlink quality, new links, and lost links. High-quality backlink data provides opportunities for link-building and tracks referring domains to improve your site’s authority and rankings.
• User-friendly interface: Ease of navigation and data visualization. SEO tools should present insights in an easy-to-digest format, with clear graphs, dashboards, and reporting features to streamline workflow.
• Pricing and value for money: If the tool fits your budget and offers a free plan. Some tools offer free basic plans, but others provide tiered pricing models depending on features and user needs.

The Top Alternatives to SpyFu

1. Koala Inspector – For Shopify Store Research

Koala Inspector is designed for Shopify competitor analysis with insights into store products, themes, and apps. When it comes to e-commerce and Shopify especially, most SEO tools are lacking in features that can help you understand what makes a good store successful. We built this custom tool as an alternative for analyzing successful Shopify stores and finding winning products.

Pricing:

There is a free plan available, which is ideal for small businesses. There are also paid plans available, including Professional at $17 per month and Unlimited at $55 per month, with more powerful features and more tokens. 

Pros:

• The application is excellent for Shopify-focused research
• It has affordable pricing and top-quality features. 
• It helps you identify new trends. 
• You can also track competitor traffic. 

Cons:

• Limited to Shopify-related insights
• Not suitable for keyword analysis

2. SEMrush – A Comprehensive SEO Platform

SEMrush is one of the most popular SEO tools. It offers in-depth keyword research, site audits, and backlink analysis. It also provides PPC analysis, content marketing insights, and rank tracking.

Additionally, its advertising research tools provide insights into the most effective ad strategies. 

Pricing: 

There are many pricing options with SEMrush, making it one of the best SEO tools. The Pro plan is $139.95 per month, the Guru plan is $249.95 per month, and the Business plan is $499.95 per month. 

Pros: 

• The comprehensive SEO and PPC data is extremely useful. 
• It also has strong competitor analysis tools
• You can conduct comprehensive site audits across the platform. 
• It also provides brilliant backlink analysis. 

Cons:

• It’s expensive for small businesses and freelancers
• Some features may be overwhelming for beginners
• There’s also limited PPC data information compared to SpyFu. 

3. Moz – Trusted for Keyword & Domain Authority Analysis

Moz provides excellent keyword research, link-building tools, and domain authority tracking. It is widely known for its proprietary Domain Authority (DA) and Page Authority (PA) metrics, which help you evaluate website credibility.

Pricing: 

There are many pricing options to suit various requirements. These include Starter at $49 per month, Standard at $99 per month, Medium at $179 per month, and Large at $299 per month. 

Pros:

• The platform has highly accurate domain authority metrics
• It also has good keyword tracking
• You can conduct brilliant backlink analysis. 
• It’s brilliant for site audits. 
• The competitor analysis is also superb 

Cons:

• Limited PPC data compared to SpyFu
• Can be slow when processing large amounts of data

4. SERPWatcher – Best for Keyword Tracking

Part of the Mangools suite, SERPWatcher specializes in rank tracking and keyword monitoring. This tool is ideal for monitoring website performance across different search engines and locations.

Pricing:

The pricing starts at $29.99 per month with 7500 keyword checks, $59 per month for 22500 keyword checks, and $199 per month for 75000 keyword checks. 

Pros: 

• It’s affordable and user-friendly
• It has excellent keyword tracking features

Cons:

• It lacks comprehensive backlink analysis
• The limited features compared to full SEO suites like SEMrush

5. Google Keyword Planner – Great for PPC & SEO Research

A free tool from Google for keyword research and PPC campaign planning. Although it is primarily designed for Google Ads, many SEO professionals use it for organic keyword research. It remains one of the best options for people with small budgets who are new to SEO. 

Pricing: 

The platform is completely free to use. 

Pros:

• The application is free to use
• Accurate Google keyword data straight from the source. 
• You can estimate costs. 
• It’s possible to optimize campaigns 
• You can also improve ad targeting. 

Cons:

• Limited competitor analysis
• Provides estimated keyword volumes rather than exact numbers

6. Ahrefs – Advanced SEO Tool for Backlink and Keyword Research

Ahrefs is renowned for its extensive backlink database and powerful keyword research capabilities. The tool’s keyword research features help identify high-traffic keywords, analyze search volume and difficulty, and track keyword rankings over time. 

In addition to backlink and keyword analysis, Ahrefs provides a content gap tool that reveals keyword opportunities your competitors are ranking for but you aren’t. Its site audit tool scans websites for SEO issues like crawlability and on-page SEO errors. 

Pricing: 

The pricing starts at $99/month with the Lite plan, which is superb for small companies or simply personal projects. The Standard plan is also ideal for freelancers, SEO managers, and marketing consultants at $199 per month. The Enterprise plan is $1200 per month and has superb features. 

Pros: 

• It’s the best-in-class backlink analysis
• It has comprehensive SEO features
• Ahrefs is brilliant for content gap analysis
• You can also use it to site audit capabilities 
• It has robust rank tracking tools. 

Cons:

• There is no free plan
• It can be expensive for small businesses

7. Mangools – Affordable SEO Suite with Multiple Tools

Mangools provides a full suite of SEO tools, including keyword research, SERP tracking, and backlink analysis. It is designed for beginners and small businesses looking for an affordable alternative to SpyFu or other premium tools.

Pricing: 

The Starter plan starts at $29.90, but the Mangools Premium plan is $44.90 and has excellent features. There’s also the Mangools Agency plan for $89.90 per month. 

Pros:

• The plan is affordable compared to competitors
• There is a simple-to-use interface, ensuring users of all backgrounds can use the platform. 

Cons:

• Limited data compared to SEMrush or Ahrefs
• Not as feature-rich as enterprise-level SEO tools

How to Choose the Best SpyFu Free Alternative

When deciding on a free alternative to SpyFu, consider your SEO goals:

• If you need Shopify competitor research, Koala Inspector is the best choice.
• If you want a comprehensive SEO suite, SEMrush or Ahrefs are top contenders.
• If you’re looking for a completely free alternative to SpyFu, Google Keyword Planner is the best option.
• If you need budget-friendly keyword tracking, SERPWatcher or Mangools offer great value.
• If your focus is on PPC analysis, KeywordSpy provides detailed advertising insights.

Although SpyFu is a great tool, many alternatives offer specialized features, better pricing, or free plans. Depending on your SEO needs, you can choose from SEMrush, Ahrefs, Moz, Mangools, and more. 

Koala Inspector is an ideal choice to gain insights into Shopify stores without the steep learning curve of more comprehensive SEO platforms. 

Try Koala Inspector for free to improve your SEO research!