Best free keyword research tools (compared by job)

Short answer: the best free keyword research tool depends on the job. Use Google Search Console for queries you already earn, Google Keyword Planner or a freemium suite when you need seed volume, and Orchory when the shortlist must become ranked pages instead of another spreadsheet export.

This guide compares ten free or freemium keyword tools by what each one actually gives you, where the free tier stops, and when to reach for paid data. Nothing here ranks tools by invented traffic scores or affiliate hype. When you are ready to move from ideas to shipped URLs, pair the list with the keyword research guide or the best AI SEO tools by output roundup.

How to use this list

Most teams need three layers, not one product:

1. Your own data: queries and pages you already show for.
2. Expansion: related terms, questions, and difficulty estimates.
3. Execution: turning validated clusters into pages your site can support.

Free tiers are real, but limits are real too: daily lookups, ad-account requirements, or exports capped at a handful of rows. Plan the workflow around the limit instead of pretending the free plan is a full Ahrefs seat.

Comparison table

1. Google Search Console

Search Console is the only free source that reflects your site, not a model of the whole web. The Performance report lists queries, landing pages, countries, devices, and search appearances with clicks, impressions, click-through rate, and average position.

Use it first when the property is verified. Sort by impressions with low clicks to find titles worth rewriting, or by queries on page two to pick the next page to build. It will not suggest net-new topics you never appeared for; pair it with an expansion tool from this list.

Best fit

• You need ground truth after you ship.
• You are prioritizing refreshes over greenfield topics.
• You want to catch cannibalization between two URLs on your domain.

2. Google Keyword Planner

Keyword Planner lives inside Google Ads. It is free to access with an Ads account and useful for seed expansion, especially when you think in campaigns or product categories. Volumes often appear as ranges unless the account meets Google’s spend thresholds, so treat numbers as directional.

It is weaker as a standalone SEO stack because it optimizes for paid intent and broad match groupings. Still, for “what does Google think is related to this seed?” it remains a credible free starting point.

Best fit

• You already manage Google Ads and want keyword ideas without a new subscription.
• You are building a seed list before you validate in a freemium SEO suite.

3. Orchory free keyword tool

Orchory’s AI keyword tool for SEO research turns a topic, product, or public URL into a table of ideas with intent, monthly volume, difficulty, opportunity score, and priority bands. The first rows are free without an account; CSV export and deeper rows stay on the public tool page.

Orchory is not trying to be the largest keyword database. The product bet is research that ends in cite-ready pages: clustering, scoring, and prompts that fit a developer-led workflow. Browse the wider free SEO tools hub for clustering, on-page checks, and schema helpers that sit next to keyword work.

When the map is stable, the auto SEO tool workflow ranks page opportunities and hands your coding agent plain-text prompts. Paid Orchory Pro is $990/mo for one plan if you outgrow the free layer. You can also send your site for a first page built before a call.

Best fit

• You want a ranked shortlist, not an endless export.
• Developers review changes before they go live.
• Your bottleneck is shipping pages, not scrolling another keyword index.

4. Ahrefs free tools

Ahrefs offers free Webmaster Tools for sites you verify, plus lightweight generators such as a free keyword generator with tight daily limits. The generators are enough to brainstorm modifiers or compare a handful of terms, not to run a full content program.

Choose Ahrefs free surfaces when you already trust Ahrefs metrics and only need a taste, or when Webmaster Tools backlink and keyword data for your property is the missing piece. For a paid-suite comparison framed around git-friendly execution, see the Orchory vs Ahrefs page.

Best fit

• You verify your site and want Ahrefs-flavored property data at no cost.
• You need a quick generator pass before you log into a paid seat elsewhere.

5. Ubersuggest

Ubersuggest bundles keyword ideas, content ideas, and basic site audit features behind a freemium account. The free tier is approachable for founders who want one login and a simple report, but daily search limits arrive quickly on active projects.

Use it when you want a friendly dashboard for occasional lookups. Move to paid Ahrefs or Semrush when you need backlink indexes, rank tracking, or high daily query volume across many domains.

Best fit

• You research a few terms per week on one site.
• You prefer guided suggestions over spreadsheet exports.

6. AnswerThePublic

AnswerThePublic visualizes questions, prepositions, and comparisons around a seed keyword. The free tier is best for content angles, especially FAQ sections, H2 outlines, and video hooks, not for precise volume planning.

Run a seed through AnswerThePublic, then validate the questions that match your product in a tool that returns volume and difficulty, or in Search Console once similar pages exist.

Best fit

• You are drafting informational content and need language real searchers use.
• You combine visuals with a stricter metrics tool the same day.

7. AlsoAsked

AlsoAsked maps People Also Ask boxes into branching trees. That structure helps you see follow-up questions Google associates with a head term, which is valuable for FAQ schema planning and internal links between supporting posts.

Free credits cover light use. Heavy PAA mining for many clients belongs on a paid plan or in a full suite.

Best fit

• You are building FAQ sections or nested guides.
• You want SERP-shaped questions without manually clicking every PAA box.

8. Moz Keyword Explorer

Moz’s free account allows a small number of Keyword Explorer queries each month with Moz’s difficulty and organic CTR metrics. That is enough to sanity-check a term before you commit a writer or developer week.

It is not a replacement for a full Moz subscription or a larger suite. Think of it as a second opinion on difficulty when you only need a few checks.

Best fit

• You want Moz difficulty scores occasionally.
• You are comparing two or three candidate primary keywords.

9. Semrush free account

Semrush’s free tier exposes keyword overviews, limited projects, and teasers of the wider toolkit. Limits are strict, but the UI matches what a paid Semrush seat looks like, which helps if you might upgrade later.

Semrush shines when you need PPC, content marketing, and SEO in one paid account. On free alone, treat it as a preview, not an operating system. Teams that ship in git often compare Semrush to Orchory on the Semrush alternative page.

Best fit

• You are evaluating Semrush before purchase.
• You need one keyword overview and a competitor snapshot today.

10. Keyword Surfer

Keyword Surfer is a browser extension that overlays estimated volumes and related terms on Google search results. It is fast for spot checks while you research manually in the SERP, but estimates are not a full research workflow and the extension depends on Chrome.

Use it as a sidecar when you already live in Google results. Do not treat overlay numbers as the sole input for a content roadmap.

Best fit

• You audit SERPs page by page.
• You want volume context without switching tabs constantly.

After you have a list

Free tools excel at discovery. They fail silently when nobody converts the list into scoped pages, internal links, and measurement. A practical next loop:

1. Cluster by intent and SERP overlap, not just spelling variations. The keyword clustering tool on Orchory helps when you already have a CSV.
2. Assign one primary query per URL and note the page type the SERP rewards.
3. Ship, then read Search Console for the URL you intended to move.
4. Refresh the queue weekly instead of hoarding exports.

If research stalls because engineering never receives a build-ready task, Orchory is the bridge from ranked keywords to reviewed pages. Start on /tools, run the free keyword map, then explore the auto SEO tool when you want the full pipeline. When you want help on the first page, send your site.

For deeper methodology, read keyword research for SaaS and low competition keywords. They cover validation and scoring without treating volume as destiny.

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