SEO clearly explained
The best SEO tools for beginners: What you should really start with.
There are hundreds of SEO tools – and you do not need most of them. Here you will learn which free tools are a must, when a paid tool is actually worth it and how to build a solid SEO foundation with just a few instruments.
* Transparency: this article contains affiliate links. If you take out a subscription through them, we receive a commission – the price does not change for you. This does not influence our assessment.
- Explained for beginners
- Free tools first
- Honest assessment
- As of September 2026
The basics
What do you actually need?
Beginners do not need ten tools – they need answers to three questions: How does Google see my website? Where is the technology failing? And what is my target audience actually searching for?
That is exactly what you should measure every tool against. The first question is answered by Google Search Console, the second by a load-time test plus a crawler, the third by a keyword research tool. Everything beyond that – competitor analyses, visibility indices, automated reports – is useful, but not a starting point.
Our clear recommendation: get the most out of the free must-have tools before you take out your first subscription. If you use the free instruments seriously, after a few weeks you will know very precisely whether and for what a paid tool is worth it at all – and you will not throw money out of the window for features you never open.
The must-haves
The free must-have tools.
Google Search Console
Free and the very first tool to set up: Search Console shows how Google actually sees your website – which search queries bring visitors, which pages get clicks and whether all important pages are in the index. Without this data, every SEO decision is a blind flight; with it, you see in black and white where you stand.
Google PageSpeed Insights
Also free: PageSpeed Insights measures how fast your website loads and rates the Core Web Vitals – the metrics Google uses to judge the user experience of your pages. Enter the URL, read the report, release the biggest brakes first. That is all it takes for a first technical check.
Screaming Frog SEO Spider
The SEO Spider crawls your website like a search engine and finds broken links, missing page titles and duplicate content along the way. The free version handles up to 500 URLs – completely sufficient for small websites. If you want to crawl more, the license costs around 199 £ per year (price according to the provider).
The next step
Freemium & paid tools: when they are worth it.
Seobility
The German all-round tool: site audit, keyword monitoring and backlink check under one roof. The free basic plan has been heavily trimmed since September 2026 – 1 project, crawl up to 100 pages, 10 keywords, 5 tool queries per day. Fine for a first taste; it gets serious with Premium at around 59.90 € per month, with a 14-day free trial (prices according to the provider). More directly at Seobility (affiliate link*).
Ubersuggest
The affordable entry into keyword research: the free version allows 3 searches per day – enough to get to know the tool. The paid version costs around 29 $ per month, or alternatively there is a one-time lifetime license for around 290 $ (prices according to the provider). If all you want is to research search terms, this is the cheapest option.
Sistrix
The professional standard in the DACH region: with its well-known visibility index, you can precisely track the development of a website – and of the competition. Starting at around 69 € per month (price according to the provider), however, Sistrix is clearly aimed at advanced users and agencies: more the step after than the entry point.
The most important question
What is free – and when is paying worth it?
Everything important for 0 euros
Search Console, PageSpeed Insights and Screaming Frog Free, supplemented by the free quotas of Seobility (affiliate link*) and Ubersuggest – the first year does not need more:
- Search Console: search queries, clicks, indexing
- PageSpeed Insights: load time & Core Web Vitals
- Screaming Frog Free: technical crawl up to 500 URLs
- First keyword ideas from the free quotas
- Technology, indexing and keywords covered – for 0 €
One tool you actually use
A subscription is only worth it once the free instruments noticeably reach their limits – typically in these cases:
- You want to monitor rankings regularly
- Comparing yourself with competitors becomes important
- Your website grows beyond the free limits
- You need reports for clients or colleagues
- Then: use ONE tool consistently instead of paying for three
Our recommendation: start with the free stack and work through its findings before you spend money – because tools show problems, they do not solve them. Prices and limits change constantly; the current details from each provider are what counts (this page reflects September 2026).
Getting started
Four steps to your SEO foundation.
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Connect Search Console
Register your website in Google Search Console and submit your sitemap. From now on you can see how Google picks up your pages – the basis for everything else.
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Check the technology once, completely
Run PageSpeed Insights for your most important pages and crawl the website once in full. Sort the findings: what slows things down, what is missing, what is duplicated?
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Define 10 search terms
Define the ten most important search terms for your offer and monitor them regularly. Better to track ten terms consistently than to merely collect a hundred.
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Build a monthly routine
Once a month: check Search Console, note your rankings, fix one technical finding. A fixed routine achieves more than any further tool collection.
And if you would rather not work through the findings yourself: that is exactly what our free website check and our ongoing SEO support are for – we look at your website with the same instruments and take care of the implementation.
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions about SEO tools.
Which SEO tools are completely free?
Google Search Console and Google PageSpeed Insights are completely free. The Screaming Frog SEO Spider crawls up to 500 URLs in the free version – enough for small websites. On top of that come the free quotas of Seobility and Ubersuggest, which are, however, tightly limited.
What is the best SEO tool for beginners?
The first tool should always be Google Search Console: it is free and shows how Google actually sees your website – search queries, clicks, indexing. If you are looking for an all-round tool after that, Seobility offers a German-language entry point with site audit, keyword monitoring and backlink check.
How much does a good SEO tool cost?
The range is wide: Ubersuggest starts at around 29 US dollars per month, or alternatively there is a one-time lifetime license for around 290 US dollars. Seobility Premium is around 59.90 euros per month, Sistrix starts at around 69 euros per month. The current prices at each provider are always what counts (this page reflects September 2026).
Are free SEO tools enough?
For getting started and for small websites: yes, usually. With Search Console, PageSpeed Insights and the free version of Screaming Frog, the technical side and indexing are covered. A paid tool only becomes worthwhile once you want to monitor rankings regularly, compare competitors or create reports for clients.
Do I need Sistrix or Semrush as a small business?
In most cases not – at least not at the beginning. Professional suites like Sistrix or Semrush are aimed at agencies and larger websites; their feature set exceeds what a small business needs in its first year. The reverse path makes more sense: first get the most out of the free tools, then choose a single paid tool if needed.
Further reading
These guides go well with this one.
Perplexity
AI search is changing SEO: how the search engine with source citations works – and what that means for your visibility.
ChatGPT
Drafting texts with AI: what the best-known AI tool can do and how to create usable first drafts with it.
All AI tool guides
From Claude to n8n: all our guides to AI tools at a glance – clearly explained for beginners.
All articles at a glance: AI Tools Guides
From measuring to doing
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