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Screaming Frog vs SEOnaut

Screaming Frog (SEO Spider desktop crawler) and SEOnaut (Open-source web-based SEO auditing tool (self-hosted or hosted)) on the same 24 capabilities, with a source for every cell and charts counted from the table.

Checked 21 October 2026 against each vendor's own public pages. Sources below.

Screaming Frog

SEO Spider desktop crawler

Paid licence $279 per user per year (1-4 licences)Runs on your machine

SEOnaut

Open-source web-based SEO auditing tool (self-hosted or hosted)

Free MIT self-host; hosted Growth $9/monthRuns on your machine

Compatibility at a glance

Screaming Frog scores 92 on coverage and 75 on automation; SEOnaut scores 8 and 25. Both out of 100, counted from the table.

Out of 24 capabilities we compare for every tool.

6both have
16only Screaming Frog
1only SEOnaut

Market map

Crawl, audit and data coverage / Automation and AI agents: SpiderHead 71·83, Screaming Frog 92·75, Sitebulb 88·58, Ahrefs Site Audit 75·75, Semrush Site Audit 63·75, SEOnaut 8·25, LibreCrawl 29·50, advertools 21·2500252550507575100100Crawl, audit and data coverage →Automation and AI agents →SpiderHeadScreaming FrogSitebulbAhrefs Site AuditSemrush Site AuditSEOnautLLibreCrawlAadvertools
Scores are counted from the table: yes = 1, partly = ½, no or not found in public docs = 0, as a share of the rows on each axis. Horizontal: Crawl, audit and data coverage (12 rows). Vertical: Automation and AI agents (6 rows). Hover or focus a marker for the breakdown; click to keep it open.

Coverage by group

Share of rows each tool covers in a group, 0–100, counted from the table below.

70Price and setup5 rows90
100Interfaces2 rows0
50AI agents and integrations2 rows0
100Crawl3 rows33
100Audit5 rows0
75Data sources4 rows0
83Reports and follow-up3 rows17
83Overall24 rows25

Side by side

CapabilityScreaming FrogSEOnaut
Price and setup
Free to usePartly: Paid licence $279 per user per year (1-4 licences)Yes: Free MIT self-host; hosted Growth $9/month
Open sourceNo: Proprietary; free version is closed sourceYes: Yes, MIT licence (LICENSE file / README)
Runs on your machineYes: Crawls run on your own machineYes: Self-hosted via Docker; hosted version also exists
Works without an accountYes: Licence key only; free version needs no sign-upPartly: Sign-in in the web app; hosted needs sign-up
Free tierYes: Free version crawls up to 500 URLsYes: Hosted Lite: 1 project, 500 URLs; self-host: none stated
Interfaces
Desktop appYes: Windows, macOS (Apple Silicon/Intel), LinuxNo: Web app run via Docker, no native app
Command lineYes: Command-line crawling and exportsNot found in public docs: Not found in public docs
AI agents and integrations
MCP server for AI agentsYes: Official MCP server since v24.0; paid licence onlyNot found in public docs: Not found in public docs
APINo: No public REST API found; it consumes third-party APIsNot found in public docs: Not found in public docs
Crawl
JavaScript renderingYes: Integrated headless Chromium renderingNot found in public docs: Not found in public docs
Scheduled crawlsYes: File > Scheduling with intervals and auto-exportsYes: Hosted Growth lists recurring audits
Custom extractionYes: XPath, CSS Path, regex, custom searchNot found in public docs: Not found in public docs
Audit
Audit checksYes: Over 300 issues, warnings, opportunities (issues list)Not found in public docs: No count published; issues in 3 severity levels
HreflangYes: Missing return tags, bad codes, non-200 URLsNot found in public docs: Not found in public docs
Structured dataYes: Schema.org and Google rich result validationNot found in public docs: Not found in public docs
Core Web Vitals / LighthouseYes: PageSpeed Insights API: Lighthouse and CrUX dataNot found in public docs: Not found in public docs
AccessibilityYes: Automated WCAG checks using axe rulesNot found in public docs: Not found in public docs
Data sources
Google Search ConsoleYes: Search Analytics and URL Inspection APIsNot found in public docs: Not found in public docs
Google Analytics 4Yes: GA4 API connection during a crawlNot found in public docs: Not found in public docs
Backlink dataPartly: Link metrics via Majestic, Ahrefs, Moz APIsNot found in public docs: Not found in public docs
Keyword dataPartly: Only GSC query/position data per URLNot found in public docs: Not found in public docs
Reports and follow-up
Report exportsYes: Spreadsheets, XML sitemaps, Google Sheets, Looker StudioPartly: Report export mentioned; formats not named
Task list and fix recheckPartly: Re-crawl and compare crawls; no task tracker foundNot found in public docs: Not found in public docs
Reads Screaming Frog exportsYes: Native: opens .seospider and .dbseospider crawlsNot found in public docs: Not found in public docs
yespartlynonot found in public docs

Where each one is stronger

Screaming Frog

  • Mature, widely used crawler with a very large built-in issue list (over 300 as published).
  • Built-in headless Chromium rendering with raw-versus-rendered HTML comparison.
  • Direct API connections to Google Search Console, GA4, PageSpeed Insights, Majestic, Ahrefs and Moz inside the crawl.
  • Axe-based accessibility checks and Schema.org/rich result validation.
  • Saved crawl files, scheduling with auto-exports, and crawl comparison, with a free tier of 500 URLs.

SEOnaut

  • Ships as a ready web dashboard with charts and issues grouped by severity, with no scripting needed
  • MIT-licensed code that can be self-hosted with a Docker compose file
  • Offers an optional hosted version with team collaboration and recurring audits
  • Stores crawl results in MySQL, which suits a persistent multi-project web interface

Questions

Which is cheaper, Screaming Frog or SEOnaut?
Screaming Frog: Paid licence $279 per user per year (1-4 licences). SEOnaut: Free MIT self-host; hosted Growth $9/month. Prices as published on 21 October 2026; check the vendors' pricing pages before you buy.
Does Screaming Frog or SEOnaut run on my own machine?
Screaming Frog: crawls run on your own machine. SEOnaut: self-hosted via Docker; hosted version also exists.
Can AI agents use Screaming Frog or SEOnaut?
MCP server — Screaming Frog: official MCP server since v24.0; paid licence only; SEOnaut: not found in public docs. API — Screaming Frog: no public REST API found; it consumes third-party APIs; SEOnaut: not found in public docs.
How much does Screaming Frog SEO Spider cost?
The pricing page on the check date lists $279 per licence per year for 1-4 licences, with lower per-licence prices from 5 licences. A free version crawls up to 500 URLs. Licences are per user.
Is SEOnaut free?
The community edition is open source under the MIT licence and can be self-hosted. The hosted service lists a free Lite plan (1 project, 500 URLs) and a Growth plan at $9/month on its site as of 2026-10-21.

How we compared

  • Every cell comes from the vendor's own public pages (product, documentation, pricing, release notes, repository) on 21 October 2026.
  • “Not found in public docs” means we could not confirm it from an official source, not that the feature is missing. Charts count it as 0.
  • Prices and plans change. Check the vendor's pricing page before you buy.
  • Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we will correct it.

Sources

Screaming Frog is a trademark of Screaming Frog Ltd. SEOnaut is a trademark of SEOnaut project (open source). Names and icons identify the products compared; SpiderHead is not affiliated with, endorsed or sponsored by Screaming Frog Ltd or SEOnaut project (open source). Owners can ask us to remove an icon via contact.

Compare with SpiderHead

SpiderHead vs Screaming FrogSEO Spider desktop crawlerSpiderHead vs SEOnautOpen-source web-based SEO auditing tool (self-hosted or hosted)All tools, one table8 SEO crawlers and audit tools

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