Semrush Site Audit vs SEOnaut

Semrush Site Audit (Cloud SEO platform module (technical site audit)) 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.

Semrush Site Audit

Cloud SEO platform module (technical site audit)

Subscription; SEO+AI Search Starter $165.17/mo annual ($199 monthly)Runs in the vendor cloud

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

Semrush Site Audit scores 63 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.

4both have
11only Semrush Site Audit
3only 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.

20Price and setup5 rows90
0Interfaces2 rows0
100AI agents and integrations2 rows0
50Crawl3 rows33
60Audit5 rows0
75Data sources4 rows0
50Reports and follow-up3 rows17
50Overall24 rows25

Side by side

CapabilitySemrush Site AuditSEOnaut
Price and setup
Free to usePartly: Subscription; SEO+AI Search Starter $165.17/mo annual ($199 monthly)Yes: Free MIT self-host; hosted Growth $9/month
Open sourceNo: Proprietary SaaSYes: Yes, MIT licence (LICENSE file / README)
Runs on your machineNo: Crawl runs in Semrush cloudYes: Self-hosted via Docker; hosted version also exists
Works without an accountNo: Semrush account required (free account available)Partly: Sign-in in the web app; hosted needs sign-up
Free tierPartly: Free account with limited tools; free SEO checker pageYes: Hosted Lite: 1 project, 500 URLs; self-host: none stated
Interfaces
Desktop appNo: Web app onlyNo: Web app run via Docker, no native app
Command lineNo: Not found in public docsNot found in public docs: Not found in public docs
AI agents and integrations
MCP server for AI agentsYes: Official hosted MCP (SEO, Trends, read-only Projects API)Not found in public docs: Not found in public docs
APIYes: Projects API v3: run audit, snapshots, issuesNot found in public docs: Not found in public docs
Crawl
JavaScript renderingPartly: Plan-dependent; docs differ by plan tierNot found in public docs: Not found in public docs
Scheduled crawlsYes: Scheduled recurring audits (e.g. weekly)Yes: Hosted Growth lists recurring audits
Custom extractionNot found in public docs: Not found in public docsNot found in public docs: Not found in public docs
Audit
Audit checksYes: 140+ technical checks (feature page)Not found in public docs: No count published; issues in 3 severity levels
HreflangYes: International SEO report: hreflang codes, conflictsNot found in public docs: Not found in public docs
Structured dataPartly: Markup checks listed among audit areasNot found in public docs: Not found in public docs
Core Web Vitals / LighthousePartly: Lighthouse-based CWV report, 10 pages per auditNot found in public docs: Not found in public docs
AccessibilityNot found in public docs: Not found in public docsNot found in public docs: Not found in public docs
Data sources
Google Search ConsoleYes: Via My Reports (Search Console data in PDF reports)Not found in public docs: Not found in public docs
Google Analytics 4Yes: GA connection in Site Audit and My ReportsNot found in public docs: Not found in public docs
Backlink dataNot found in public docs: Not found in public docsNot found in public docs: Not found in public docs
Keyword dataYes: Daily keyword tracking (Starter: 500 keywords)Not found in public docs: Not found in public docs
Reports and follow-up
Report exportsYes: Excel, CSV, PDF; limits depend on planPartly: Report export mentioned; formats not named
Task list and fix recheckPartly: Recurring re-audits and snapshot historyNot found in public docs: Not found in public docs
Reads Screaming Frog exportsNot found in public docs: Not found in public docsNot found in public docs: Not found in public docs
yespartlynonot found in public docs

Where each one is stronger

Semrush Site Audit

  • Fully hosted: no installation, no local resources, crawls run in the vendor cloud
  • Same account gives keyword tracking, competitor and other SEO tools alongside the audit
  • Scheduled recurring audits with a snapshot history of earlier crawls
  • Official hosted MCP server and Projects API for reading Site Audit project data
  • PDF and report building that combines audit data with Google Analytics and Search Console

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, Semrush Site Audit or SEOnaut?
Semrush Site Audit: Subscription; SEO+AI Search Starter $165.17/mo annual ($199 monthly). 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 Semrush Site Audit or SEOnaut run on my own machine?
Semrush Site Audit: crawl runs in Semrush cloud. SEOnaut: self-hosted via Docker; hosted version also exists.
Can AI agents use Semrush Site Audit or SEOnaut?
MCP server — Semrush Site Audit: official hosted MCP (SEO, Trends, read-only Projects API); SEOnaut: not found in public docs. API — Semrush Site Audit: projects API v3: run audit, snapshots, issues; SEOnaut: not found in public docs.
Does Semrush Site Audit run on my machine?
No. Crawls run in Semrush's cloud and are configured in the web app; a Semrush account is required.
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

Try SpiderHead on your own site