In this guide, you’ll find a comprehensive list of free keyword research tools and generators to help you discover topic ideas people are searching for on Google to plan your website’s SEO strategy.
I analyzed 31 keyword research tools and generators based on price ($0), available features, and usefulness for SEO keyword analysis and batch suggestions for topics. The first section includes my top picks followed by a deep dive into the details for all of the keyword search software and generators so you can do your own comparison. All tools were verified by the Editorial Staff.
Top Free Keyword Research Tools & Generators
- Google Keyword Planner for researching organic and paid keywords by topic.
- Google Trends for finding breakout keywords.
- Semrush Keyword Magic Tool for the best all-around keyword research analysis.
- SEO PowerSuite for a free downloadable software with 20+ keyword optimization tools.
- LowFruits for finding low-competition keywords for SEO.
- Ahrefs Keyword Generator for generating loads of free keyword ideas from Google, Bing, YouTube, and Amazon.
- AlsoAsked for exploring questions your audience is asking around certain topics based on Google’s People Also Asked feature.
- AnswerThePublic for finding keywords phrased as questions.
- SEOScout Suggest is a free version of AnswerThePublic without daily search limitations.
- Wordstream Keywords for finding keywords for pay-per-click campaigns.
Free Keyword Research Tools In Detail
GetKeywords
GetKeywords is one of the best free keyword research tools for local SEO. You’ll need to set up a free account to get started with the trial version of the tool, which includes real-time data analysis, global keyword search, city-level keyword data, 45+ languages, search volumes, SEO difficulty scores, cost-per-click (CPC) data, trends, and more.
Google Autocomplete
Google Autocomplete is a quick and easy free keyword tool you can use to come up with topic ideas for your website. Simply type a word into Google’s search bar and you’ll get an instant list of long-tail versions of your primary keyword based on actual user data from Google.
Google Keyword Planner
Google Keyword Planner is a free keyword generator that can be used in your Google Ads account (previously known as AdWords). This keyword optimization tool provides topic suggestions, search volumes, cost-per-click (CPC) data, advertiser competition level, trend data, and more that can be used for both organic SEO and paid search campaigns. You can enter seed keywords or a competitor’s URL to get new ideas.
Google Search Console
Google Search Console is another free SEO keyword tool that’s available to every website owner. After connecting your site to Google Search Console, you can get valuable insights into the SEO keywords your website is ranking for in the search engine results pages (SERPs). Google Search Console displays the total number of impressions, clicks, click-through rate (CTR), and average search position for every keyword it tracks for your website. See this related guide for even more Google SEO tools.
Google Trends
Google Trendsis a free tool that provides keyword data on specific search terms used on Google and YouTube. You can use it to discover trending topics, local search trends, and find related keywords that are growing in popularity. Google Trends also helps you avoid keywords that are losing momentum so you can make better decisions on which terms to target for your website content.
You can check out these related guides to learn more about this tool: what is Google Trends used for and how Google Trends works. Or visit this page with a list of tips on how to find trending SEO keywords if you want to optimize for this type of content.
Keyword Chef
Keyword Chef is a keyword research tool created by Ben Adler. It automatically finds and filters low-competition keywords for you. With real-time SERP analysis, Keyword Chef helps you find the best SEO keywords for your website that are nearly guaranteed to rank high on Google. You can try Keyword Chef for $0 and get 1,000 credits by signing up for a free trial account to test it out. You can learn more about how to find low competition keywords here.
Keyword Surfer
Keyword Surferis a free SEO keyword tool that was developed by Surfer SEO. It’s available as a free Chrome extension that adds new functionality to your Google web browser. Once installed, Keyword Surfer shows you the search volume for related keywords, cost-per-click (CPC) data, similar keywords, backlinks correlation chart, and more.
Keyword Tool Dominator
Keyword Tool Dominator is a software that’s packed with 9 tools for doing keyword research. With it, you can analyze websites like Amazon, Bing, eBay, Etsy, Google, Google Shopping, Home Depot, Walmart, and YouTube to uncover popular keywords being searched for on those platforms and extract terms from product listings to help you improve your content marketing and SEO efforts. The free version of the tool allows you to conduct 2 searches per day.
Keyworddit
Keyworddit is one of the best free keyword research tools for extracting long-tail and seed keywords from subreddits on Reddit. Keyworddit works by pulling keyword ideas from titles and comments of threads and reports the monthly search volume data for those terms. Typically, if a keyword is popular on Reddit, then it can be a good topic to target for SEO and content marketing purposes because there’s a demonstrated need (or trend) for relevant keyword searches online. There’s no other keyword optimization tool like it, so give it a try.
Keysearch
Keysearch is a powerful free keyword research tool that also comes bundled with other SEO analysis software. You can search for related keywords on multiple platforms like Google, Yahoo, Bing, Etsy, Pinterest, eBay, etc. The free trial provides 5 keyword searches and analysis per day as well as limited access to other tools like a rank tracker, backlink checker, website auditor, competitive analyzer, content assistant, and more. See this related guide with free backlink checker tools if you’re interested in that type of SEO tool.
KeywordTool.io
KeywordTool.iois a simple keyword research tool that provides thousands of keyword suggestions from real user queries on platforms like Google, Bing, YouTube, Amazon, eBay, Apple Store, Google Play Store, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google Trends. You can try KeywordTool.io for free and analyze the search volumes, trends, cost-per-click (CPC) data, and competition level for your sample keywords. You will need to register for a KeywordTool.io account to reveal those metrics; however, you can still get the a list of keywords for free without logging in or paying for an account.
KWFinder
KWFinder is a keyword research tool offered by Mangools. With KWFinder, you can search in three ways: related keywords, Google autocomplete, and questions. You can then analyze the average monthly search volume, cost-per-click (CPC) data, pay-per-click (PPC) competition, and keyword difficulty scores to find the best keywords to target on your website. KWFinder also comes bundled with other SEO software, including a rank tracker, backlink checker, SERP analyzer, and site profiler. This is my favorite SEO tool on the market and I use it every day for keyword research. You cantry KWFinder for FREE hereusing my affiliate link at no extra cost to you. I only earn a commission if you ever upgrade to a paid plan. You can also read my KWFinder review for more details.
LowFruits
LowFruitsis an amazing keyword research tool that helps you find keywords in SEO that have weak spots in the top ranking positions in the SERPs. This includes keywords where forums and weak websites with low Domain Authority scores rank in the top 1-10 positions on Google. I use LowFruits to find low competition keywords that can be ranked for quickly without much effort. You can try LowFruits for free here using my affiliate link and get 10 free credits to test out the tool. You can use the keyword research functions at no charge for as long as you’d like. The only time you have to use credits is when you want to analyze terms for SEO data like search volume, CPC, weak spots, etc.
MerchantWords
MerchantWords is one of the best free keyword tools for SEO if you own an Amazon store. This ecommerce keyword research tool collects and analyzes billions of global data points so you have the best information available to build a successful brand and the most relevant keywords that can deliver the highest return on investment (ROI) for your business.
Moz Keyword Explorer
Moz Keyword Explorer isa time-saving keyword research tool that helps you find profitable keywords and organize your keywords into lists. It’s part of the Moz Pro SEO analytics platform and you can use it at no charge by signing up for a free Moz account. However, you’re limited to 10 free queries per month unless you upgrade to a paid plan.
Semrush Keyword Magic Tool
Semrush Keyword Magic Toolis a powerful free tool offered by the SEO tech giant Semrush. I recommend ever website owner and SEO specialist sign up for the free account because you can gain access to almost all of the Semrush tools as no charge with daily limits.
You can try Semrush Keyword Magic Tool for FREE here with my affiliate link. I only earn a commission if you ever upgrade to a paid plan. Sign up for a free member account to test it out. Once you do, you’ll get access to more than 20 billion keywords from over 120 geographical databases. The free account limits you to 10 searches per day.
SEO Powersuite
SEO Powersuite has a Rank Tracker tool that includes 20+ keyword optimization tools in a single piece of software. And best of all it’s 100% free to use. All of the popular keyword research tools are integrated right into the Rank Tracker keyword rank tool, including Google Ads Keyword Planner, Competition Research, Keyword Gap, Related Searches, Autocomplete Tools, Related Questions, and many more. SEO Powersuite can help you find the best SEO keyword ideas that otherwise couldn’t be found on the Internet.
SpyFu
SpyFu is a keyword research and competitive intelligence tool used by digital marketers who want to compete in organic search and paid advertising channels like Google Ads. In addition to finding new keyword opportunities with the keyword research function, you can also find and steal your competitors’ top-ranking keywords. Plus, you get access to a PPC analyzer, historic data, backlink analysis, and custom reporting. You can try SpyFu for free to test out all of the features for your SEO campaigns.
TagCrowd
TagCrowd is a free SEO keyword tool for doing competitor on-page SEO analysis. The concept of this tool is simple: paste a website’s URL into TagCrowd and get a word cloud showing you the main topic ideas on the page and the total number of times each word is being used in the content. With TagCrowd, you can determine the optimum frequency of using exact match keywords for on-page SEO by checking your competitors’ articles.
Ubersuggest
Ubersuggestis a free tool by Neil Patel that provides good keyword ideas for SEO and digital marketing campaigns. You can perform up to 3 searches per day without logging in. When you enter a search term, Ubersuggest displays the search volume, SEO difficulty, paid difficulty, and CPC.
Wordtracker
Wordtracker is the best free alternative to the Google Keyword Planner. You can use Wordtrackerwithout signing in to reveal 1,000s of profitable longtail keywords with up to 10,000 results per search. However, only the first 50 search results are free unless you upgrade to a paid account.
Free Keyword Generators In Detail
Ahrefs Keyword Generator
Ahrefs free keyword generator is the best tool on the market for generating loads of keywords without having to sign up or pay for this type of software. You can enter a term and instantly find relevant keywords in its database of over 8 billion queries from search engines like Google, Bing, YouTube, and Amazon. You can also switch between Phrase Match or Questions to further filter the free topic ideas for SEO and new content for your website.
AlsoAsked
AlsoAsked is a keyword research tool for exploring the questions your audience is asking around certain topics. Essentially, AlsoAsked mines the questions from the People Also Ask box in Google’s search engine so you can quickly get a list of the most relevant questions you can answer in your content for SEO and to boost topical relevance.
AnswerThePublic
AnswerThePublicis one of the most popular keyword generators on the Internet. The way it works is you enter a search term into the tool, and it then displays common questions people are asking related to that topic. You can view the results as a visual representation or as a table with the data divided into the following categories: questions, prepositions, comparisons, alphabetical, and related keywords. This tool also provides the average search volume and cost-per-click (CPC) metrics for keyword analysis. AnswerThePublic limits you to 3 free searches per day without logging in. To unlock more searches, register for a free account.
Keyword.io
Keyword.io is an autocomplete generator for finding new keywords to use in your SEO and PPC campaigns. This keyword optimization tool can pull topic ideas from specific search engines like Google, Bing, Amazon, Yandex, Wikipedia, and more.
Keyword Sheeter
Keyword Sheeteris another popular tool that can pull thousands of autocomplete suggestions from Google. It’s lightning fast and accepts one or more seed keywords to generate ideas. Keyword Sheeter is completely free to use with no sign up required.
QuestionDB
QuestionDBis a fast and easy-to-use keyword generator. It pulls from several Question-and-Answer websites, including Reddit and Quora, to give you a list of popular questions people are asking related to your SEO keywords. You can use QuestionDB 100% free for unlimited searchers per day; however, your results will be limited to 50 keyword suggestions per search and the search volume and keyword difficulty metrics will be blurred out. Upgrading to a paid plan gives you 100-500 keywords for every search and unlocks the SEO metrics.
SEOScout Suggest
SEOScout Suggest has a free keyword suggestion tool that you can use without signing up for their software. It provides similar data to AnswerThePublic but without restrictions on the number of times you can use to tool to generate keyword ideas each day. SEOScout Suggest also delivers keyword topics ideas across many categories such as Phrases, Questions, Comparisons, Research, and Alphabetical listing.
SEOStack
SEOStack is a keyword generating tool that’s available as a free Chrome extension. It works by gathering keyword data from multiple different sources, including Google, Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo, YouTube, Amazon, Pinterest, and Ebay. SEOStack is a basic keyword generator that can deliver a ton of new topic ideas fast. However, you’ll need to analyze those keywords in another SEO analysis tool to get specific insights on metrics like search volume and SEO competition.
Soovle
Soovleworks as a dual keyword research tool and a keyword generator. As you type words into the search bar, it lists out popular keywords across several search engines, including Google, Yahoo, Bing, Amazon, Wikipedia, YouTube, etc. After the keyword ideas are generated, you can then click on a term and automatically be taken to the search engine for further SERP analysis. Soovle includes unlimited searches for free but doesn’t have the most modern, or visually-pleasing, user interface.
WordStream
WordStream Keywords is a keyword tool that can help you generate ideas in two ways: using a seed keyword or analyzing a competitor’s URL to extract relevant terms. This is primarily a free tool for coming up with new keywords for pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, but the insights can also be useful for SEO content. WordStream displays the search volume, competition level, cost-per-click (CPC), and opportunity score for each generated keyword.
Now, if you need help figuring out what is a good keyword to target on your website for SEO, then check out that linked guide. It covers the top attributes you need to consider to choose good keywords for your content.
Learn More About Keyword Research
The links below explain more about keyword research and how to use it correctly for better search engine optimization. Use these resources to expand your knowledge on the subject.
- How to Do Keyword Research for SEO
- Best Keyword Research Tools for SEO
Summary for Free Keyword Research Tools & Generator for SEO
I hope you enjoyed this list of free keyword research tools and generators.
As you discovered, there are many free keyword tools for SEO research and analysis you can use to check the monthly search volume and keyword difficulty for potential terms to target on your website. There are also quick and easy-to-use free keyword generator tools that can produce a large batch of topic ideas quickly that can be later analyzed in other SEO keyword research software. I suggest you try each tool to find out which software works best for your keyword needs.
