First, what you may not need to buy
Before you pay anything, Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools, Ahrefs' free account and Screaming Frog's free crawler cover a lot for a small site. We went through them in free Semrush alternatives and free Ahrefs alternatives.
You should pay when you've run into a specific wall, such as wanting to see what a competitor ranks for. A named problem also makes the choice much simpler.
The cheap tools, by job
These are the paid options under about $50 a month, as of November 2026. Prices move, so check before you buy.
| Job | Tool | Price a month | The limit to look at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keywords and competitors | Ahrefs Starter | $29 | Credit-based and made for light use; Ahrefs' 2024 post says 200 credits a month and no extra users |
| Beginner all-in-one | Ubersuggest | From $29 | Lowest plan: 1 project, 125 keywords tracked weekly, 1,000-page audit, 150 reports a day |
| Competitor keywords and ads | SpyFu Basic | $39 | 1 tracking project and 1 user, but 5,000 weekly tracked keywords |
| Simple suite for one site | Moz Pro Starter | $49 | For individuals managing a single website |
| Broader suite | Serpstat Individual | $50, billed yearly ($600) | 100 searches a day, 5 projects |
| Local rankings, listings | Moz Local Lite | $16, billed yearly ($199) | Replying to reviews needs the next plan up |
| Local rankings, audits | BrightLocal Track | $31, billed yearly ($369); $41 monthly | Map grid for up to 5 keywords |
| Map rank checks | Local Falcon Starter | $24.99, billed yearly | Runs on credits: a 5x5 grid uses 25 |
| Writing articles | Koala | From $25 | 45,000 words and 500 credits a month |
| Optimizing articles | Frase Starter | $39 billed yearly, $49 monthly | 1 site, 1 seat, 10 articles a month |
| Optimizing articles | Surfer Discovery | $49, billed yearly | 120 documents, 10 tracked pages; AI tracking isn't listed |
| Tracking AI answers | Otterly Lite | $29 | 15 prompts on 4 AI engines |
| WordPress help | Yoast SEO Premium | $9.90, billed yearly ($118.80) | Try the free version first |
Three things that make cheap tools less cheap
Yearly billing shown as a monthly price. A lot of the figures above assume you pay for 12 months up front. Moving from BrightLocal's $31 to its monthly $41 is a third more. That's fine if you're sure, but it's a poor way to try something out.
An introductory first month. SpyFu's Pro + AI plan shows $59 for the first month and $119 after that. Nothing wrong with that, as long as you budget for the second number.
Credits and caps. Some tools sell a plan and then meter the work. Local Falcon's credits and Koala's words are clear and fair, but do the maths for your own use. On Local Falcon, for example, a 5x5 grid uses 25 credits, so more keywords, more locations or more frequent scans all use them faster.
It's also worth counting seats. Cheap plans usually include one user. That's fine for a solo founder, and awkward for a team of three.
What you give up at this price
Compared with a full suite such as Semrush at $139 a month or Ahrefs Lite at $129, expect some of the following:
- Fewer tracked keywords, sometimes updated weekly instead of daily.
- Smaller exports and fewer results per report.
- Less history, which matters if you're trying to understand a drop in traffic.
- One user, one project, or both.
For one small site with one person looking at it, you won't feel most of those. If you run several sites or need daily data, it's worth looking at SE Ranking at $103.20 a month billed yearly: it's over this article's budget, but 10 projects and 2,000 daily keywords is a lot for the price.
Two sensible low-budget setups
Both of these are made-up examples, to show the thinking.
A local electrician, about $31 a month. Search Console and a Business Profile for free, then BrightLocal Track for rankings across the service area. No keyword suite at all. Most of the useful searches are obvious, and it's the map that brings the calls.
A one-person software company, about $29 to $50 a month. Search Console and Ahrefs' free account, plus one research tool such as Ahrefs Starter or Moz Pro Starter to study competitors' comparison pages. Add a content tool only if articles are the thing you're stuck on.
In both cases, the tool is a small part of the cost. The bigger cost is the hours spent acting on it.
Pick by the question you need answered
If you're still unsure, name the question and buy the tool that answers it:
- "What should I write next?" A keyword tool such as Ubersuggest or Ahrefs Starter.
- "Why does that competitor get the customers?" SpyFu or Ahrefs Starter.
- "Why don't I show up on the map?" BrightLocal or Local Falcon.
- "Is this draft good enough to publish?" Frase or Surfer.
- "Does ChatGPT know we exist?" Otterly.
If two questions tie, start with the one closest to revenue. Then use the free trial where there is one, and pay monthly until the tool has answered that question at least once.
When cheap is the wrong thing to optimize for
If you've paid for a cheap tool twice and never got around to using it, the price wasn't the problem. Time was.
That's where tools that do the work come in, and they cost more. Sojig is ours: it starts at $99 a month for up to 100 pages, and each week it drafts fixes, an article and outreach emails for you to approve. It isn't a cheap SEO tool, and if you have an hour a month and $30, it isn't for you. You'll do better with the setups above. There are more options in our list of alternatives, including some that start below Sojig, and what to buy first if you're starting from scratch.