Compare · SEO suites and rank trackers

Screaming Frog vs Sitebulb

Screaming Frog and Sitebulb are the two desktop crawlers most SEOs choose between. At the time of writing (September 2026), Screaming Frog is free up to 500 URLs and £199 (about $279) per user per year for the full licence. Sitebulb has no free version but a 14-day trial of Pro; desktop Lite is $18/mo and Pro $42/mo.

The difference is style. Screaming Frog gives you raw data and huge flexibility: custom extraction, source-code search, custom JavaScript. Sitebulb turns findings into prioritised Hints with explanations and polished reports, which suits people who present audits to clients or are still learning.

Screaming Frog vs Sitebulb side by side

From each product’s own site or our research, at the time of writing (September 2026). Prices and terms change, so check before you decide.

Comparison of Screaming Frog and Sitebulb
Feature	Screaming Frog	Sitebulb
Price	Free (500 URLs); £199 / $279 per user per year	Lite $18/mo, Pro $42/mo (desktop); Cloud from $125/mo
Free option	Free version, 500 URLs per crawl, core reports	14-day Pro trial, no card; no free version
URL limit	Unlimited on paid (memory and storage permitting)	10,000 (Lite) / 500,000 (Pro, up to 2 million)
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux	Windows, Mac; Cloud in the browser
JavaScript rendering	Paid licence (Chromium)	All plans
Issue guidance	Issues tab with descriptions; raw data first	100+ Hints (Lite), 300+ (Pro), prioritised
Accessibility audits	Paid (AXE rule set)	Pro
Scheduling	Paid	Pro and Cloud
AI tools	Crawl with OpenAI and Gemini (paid)	MCP access on all plans

Which should you pick?

Pick Screaming Frog if…

You want the lowest yearly cost for unlimited crawling.
You need custom extraction, custom JavaScript or source-code search.
You're on Linux, or want a free crawler for a small site.

Screaming Frog’s site · LaunchRanked vs Screaming Frog

Pick Sitebulb if…

You want each issue explained and prioritised for you.
You present audits to clients and want polished PDF reports.
You'd rather pay monthly, or need a cloud crawler without a desktop machine.

Sitebulb’s site · LaunchRanked vs Sitebulb

Where LaunchRanked fits

Disclosure: LaunchRanked is our product. Where we list it, we say so, and we place it under the use case it fits rather than at the top by default. Everything else here is from the vendors’ own sites or our research, and we say where they’re better.

We don't sell a crawler. Both tools find technical issues; neither fixes them. Crawl with either, then decide who makes the fixes.

If the audit keeps finding problems nobody has time to fix, Done-for-you (from $999/mo) includes technical SEO by hand. Autopilot ($49/mo, early access) handles content and Search Console title rewrites, not site code.

Frequently asked questions

Is Screaming Frog or Sitebulb cheaper?

Screaming Frog, for most people: £199 a year per user at the time of writing (September 2026), against $425 a year for Sitebulb Pro. Sitebulb Lite ($180 a year) is cheaper but capped at 10,000 URLs per audit.

Which is better for beginners?

Sitebulb. Its Hints explain why each issue matters and how to fix it. Screaming Frog assumes you know what you're looking at.

Can I use both?

Many SEOs do: Screaming Frog for quick, flexible checks, Sitebulb for client-ready audits.

Sources we checked

Checked on their own sites on 23 September 2026. Prices and terms change, so check before you buy. Domain ratings are approximate third-party estimates.

Sitebulb prices come from its own price endpoint (the pricing page loads them with JavaScript).