Is Screaming Frog Free? What You Get for $0 in 2026
Paul VengeonsCo-Founder & SEO ConsultantIn short
Yes, up to 500 URLs per crawl. The free SEO Spider needs no sign-up, but you cannot save crawls, change the configuration or render JavaScript. The licence removes the limit for £199 a year ($279 or €245), per user.
Five hundred crawled URLs show what is broken, not what matters. ChatSEO reads your Search Console and tells you which pages to work on first.
Summarize this blog post with:
Which Screaming Frog option is for you?
Answer 4 questions: free version, licence or another tool
🔬 How I checked what Screaming Frog gives for free
I read the three pages where Screaming Frog explains this: the pricing page with its feature table, the SEO Spider page and the FAQ. Every limit and price below was checked on Screaming Frog's official pages on November 6, 2026. I did not run a test crawl for this article. ChatSEO appears near the end because it is the tool I co-founded: it is paid, with a trial, and I say so.
My take after years of auditing client sites: on a site under 500 URLs, the free version is all most people need. The real question is not the limit but what you do with the export once you have it.
📊 Is Screaming Frog free? The answer at a glance
Yes, up to 500 URLs per crawl, with no sign-up. Above that, or for the advanced features, you need a licence.
| Option | Cost | Sign-up | What you get | Main limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free SEO Spider | £0 | No | Broken links, redirects, titles, meta data, hreflang, exact duplicates, XML sitemap | 500 URLs per crawl, no saving, no configuration |
| Licence | £199 a year ($279 or €245) | Yes | No crawl limit beyond your memory and storage, every feature | Per user, renewed each year |
| Google Search Console | Free | Site verification | Google's own data on your site | Your own sites only |
| ChatSEO | 7-day trial, then from €29 a month | Yes, with a card | A prioritized list of pages to work on | Checks pages one by one, no full crawl |
🆓 The 3 ways to crawl for free with Screaming Frog
1. The free SEO Spider: 500 URLs per crawl
You download the app, type your address and start crawling. Screaming Frog asks for no account and no email. These features are ticked in the free column:
- Broken links, errors and redirects
- Page titles and meta data
- Meta robots and directives
- hreflang attributes
- Exact duplicate pages
- XML sitemaps, which you can generate
For a small site, that already covers the checks I would start with. The catch is the rest of the table, further down.
2. Google Search Console: what a crawler cannot see
A crawler tells you what is on your pages. Search Console tells you what Google did with them: real clicks, impressions and positions for every query, with 16 months of history. It is free, and the licensed Spider connects to it, but the free one does not. Keep them open side by side.
3. Another free crawler, if your site is over 500 URLs
If you pass the limit and do not want a licence, other tools audit a site for $0. I compared them in our guide to the best free Screaming Frog alternatives, with what each one leaves out.
💸 Is there a Screaming Frog free trial?
I found none: the pricing page and the FAQ only mention the free version and the licence. In practice the free version is your trial, since it is the same app with restrictions.
The licence costs £199 a year. In dollars it is $279 per licence for 1 to 4 licences. In euros it is €245 for 1 to 4, €235 for 5 to 9, €219 for 10 to 19 and €209 from 20. It is sold per user and for one year. When it expires, the Spider goes back to the restricted free version.
Save €100+/month on your SEO tool
ChatSEO covers the essentials from €29/month. 7-day money-back guarantee.
ChatSEO: best for knowing what to do next
ChatSEO is the tool I co-founded, and it is not free: you get a 7-day trial with 30 credits, then plans start at €29 a month, or €23 a month billed annually. The card is asked at signup and charged on day 7 unless you cancel, with a reminder 3 days before.
It answers the question that a crawl export leaves open: which problem to fix first. It reads your Search Console, compares your site with your competitors on live keyword and backlink data, and returns a prioritized list. Do not choose it to crawl a whole large site: Screaming Frog does that, and ChatSEO checks pages one by one.
Results from a ChatSEO customer
From 10 to 100 Google clicks a day
“From a few clicks a day to more than 3,000 clicks a month.”
A client site of an SEO consultant
⚠️ The limits that catch people out
Without a licence, a crawl cannot be saved, so plan to export what you need before you close the app.
- No crawl configuration: you take the default settings, for the whole crawl.
- No JavaScript rendering: a site that builds its content in JavaScript can look thinner than it is.
- No password-protected sites: a staging site behind a login stays out of reach.
- No Search Console, Analytics or PageSpeed connection: you compare those by hand.
- No scheduling and no crawl comparison: every check starts again from zero.
- No near duplicates and no structured data validation: only exact duplicates are found.
⭐ Scorecard
| Option | Price | Finds technical errors | Sites over 500 URLs | Tells you what to fix first |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free SEO Spider | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | ☆☆☆☆☆ | ★☆☆☆☆ |
| Screaming Frog licence | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★☆☆☆ |
| Google Search Console | ★★★★★ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★☆☆☆ |
| ChatSEO | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★★★ |
These stars are my own judgment, from the limits above.
⚖️ Should you pay for Screaming Frog?
- ✅ Your site has under 500 URLs → the free version
- ✅ Your site is bigger and you audit it often → the licence
- ✅ You audit client sites for a living → the licence, it pays for itself quickly
- ✅ You want your real Google numbers → Google Search Console
- ✅ You do not want to read a crawl export → ChatSEO
Who should not pay: anyone whose site fits in 500 URLs and who does not need JavaScript rendering. If the tool itself is not the right fit, see the best Screaming Frog alternatives or our SEO audit tools guide.
❓ Frequently asked questions
Is Screaming Frog free?
Yes, up to 500 URLs per crawl. The SEO Spider is free to download and use, with restricted features. A licence removes the limit and unlocks the rest.
Do you need an account to use Screaming Frog for free?
No. Screaming Frog says the free version needs no sign-up and no email. You download it and run it on your computer.
How many URLs can you crawl with the free version?
500 URLs per crawl. You can start another crawl, but previous crawls cannot be saved or opened again without a licence.
How much does a Screaming Frog licence cost?
£199 a year, or $279 or €245 per licence when you buy 1 to 4. Larger orders in euros fall to €235, €219 and €209.
What happens when the licence expires?
The SEO Spider goes back to the restricted free version, with the 500 URL limit.
Does Screaming Frog have a free trial?
Its pricing page and FAQ do not mention one. The free version is the way to try it before paying.
Can the free Screaming Frog render JavaScript?
No. JavaScript rendering is on the list of features crossed out for the free version.
Is ChatSEO free?
No. ChatSEO offers a 7-day trial with 30 credits, then plans start at €29 a month, or €23 a month billed annually.
