Best Google Keyword Planner Alternatives (Free and Paid)

Note (September 2026): This article was checked in September 2026. Two tools on the original list (Long Tail Pro and Term Explorer) are no longer available, Wordze is now a paid AI content platform rather than a free keyword tool, and ScrapeBox is a one-time purchase, not a subscription; the entries below are corrected.

The best Google Keyword Planner alternatives as of September 2026 are Semrush, Ahrefs and Moz Keyword Explorer for full SEO research, SpyFu for competitor keywords, WordStream’s Free Keyword Tool for free search volume and cost-per-click data, and Keyword Tool Pro for autocomplete-based long-tail ideas. Google Keyword Planner itself is free but requires a Google Ads account and shows limited volume data to low-spend accounts.

Key Takeaways

• Google Keyword Planner is free, but it needs a Google Ads account, and since 2016 accounts with low or no ad spend see limited search volume data.
• Free alternatives: WordStream’s Free Keyword Tool, the free tiers of Semrush (10 reports per day) and Ahrefs (Ahrefs Free), and Moz Keyword Explorer with a free Moz account.
• Paid suites: Semrush, Ahrefs and Moz Pro cover keyword research plus backlinks, audits and rank tracking; entry prices ranged from $29 to $139 per month in September 2026.
• Gone: Long Tail Pro and Term Explorer are no longer available, so check who is behind any product still sold under those names.

If you work online as the website advertisers or SEO professionals or into part-time freelance writing or a professional blogger, then you might know the major secret behind organic traffic is using the KEYWORDS which help in ranking your article or a website.

Best Alternatives to Google Keyword Planner Tool

The best thing is to use the keywords having less or moderate competition to get your page rank on Google’s first page. To pick those keywords, you need a reliable estimate of each keyword’s monthly searches, its competition and the intent behind it.

Before starting with my article, I would like to talk in brief about “what is Google Keyword Planner?” Google Keyword Planner is a free keyword research tool inside Google Ads, the advertising platform that was called Google AdWords until Google renamed it in 2018. It shows related search terms, estimated monthly searches and bid estimates for each keyword. This tool helps the website advertisers in finding the best keywords for targeting the AdWords ads, paid advertising and much more. SEO professionals also use it for organic keyword research, because it shows how much search demand a term has.

You people might think that Google Keyword Planner is the best AdWords tool, why I am here with its alternatives which you should use. The reason is that in 2016 Google tied Keyword Planner more closely to active advertising accounts.

According to Google, anyone with a Google Ads account can use Keyword Planner after creating a campaign, and Google asks new accounts to add billing information before they can use features such as “Get ideas for new keywords.” Since that 2016 change, advertisers with lower or no monthly spending see limited search volume output, usually broad ranges instead of exact monthly figures.

So, here we will be talking about the top 10 Google Keyword Planner alternatives you should use. And it is significantly important because, to decide the right keyword, it is crucial to use the proper keyword research tool.

SEMrush: Best Analyzer Tool

Semrush is an SEO platform founded in 2008 and based in Boston; Adobe completed its $1.9 billion acquisition of Semrush on April 28, 2026. Semrush helps SEO professionals find keyword ideas, estimate search volume and difficulty, and study competitors. As of September 2026, Semrush has a free plan (10 reports per day, no credit card) and paid plans starting with an SEO plan at $139 per month, or $117.33 per month billed annually.

YES! It does tell about the other websites ranking with the same keyword. Not only this, it is a tool which even tells about the SERP result type of the site links, ranking domains, knowledge graph and much more.

WordZe: Free Research Tool

Wordze is no longer a free keyword research tool. As of September 2026, Wordze describes itself as an AI-powered SEO content platform that combines topic and keyword research with AI article writing, and its pricing page lists two paid subscription plans (Solo and Team) with no free plan. But this doesn’t mean that it is not worth to use. Wordze’s own site promotes its keyword discovery features; the accuracy of its data has not been independently verified here. Even it does provide an option for searching long tail keywords according to your searched keyword. Readers who need a free keyword planner should use one of the free options below instead.

Ahrefs: Excellent Suite of Tools

Ahrefs is a paid SEO suite whose plans include Keywords Explorer, Site Explorer, Site Audit and Rank Tracker, so it covers keyword research, backlinks, audits and rankings in one place. Its Keywords Explorer is the part that replaces Google Keyword Planner. This keyword planner looks simple and elegant as well as shows a list of keywords with few metrics. As of September 2026, Ahrefs lists a Starter plan at $29 per month and full plans from $129 per month (Lite). Its free tier, Ahrefs Free (formerly Ahrefs Webmaster Tools), shows up to 1,000 keywords and backlinks at once for websites you verify.

Moz Pro: Dedicated Keyword Explorer

Moz Keyword Explorer is Moz’s dedicated keyword research tool; Moz offers it as a free tool with a Moz account and with higher limits inside Moz Pro. It gives estimated search volume of the searched keyword along with the keyword difficulty score it even displays the domains which are currently ranking in Google with the same keyword.

Scrapebox: Black Hat SEO tool

ScrapeBox is SEO software, first released in 2009, that is widely associated with black hat SEO. Its keyword scraper can turn one seed keyword into thousands of related suggestions harvested from sources such as Google Suggest, YouTube, Bing and Amazon. It does have the white hat uses as well including the keyword research. According to ScrapeBox, the software runs on Windows 10, Windows 11 and Apple Mac. ScrapeBox is sold as a one-time purchase, not a monthly subscription; in September 2026 its homepage listed a discounted price of $97 (down from $197).

WordStream: Free Keyword Research Tool

Wordstream is a keyword planner tool for the search marketers which help in managing their pay per click campaigns. WordStream’s Free Keyword Tool is free, and WordStream says it can be run as many times as you like. As of September 2026, the free tool shows related keywords with search volume, competition and top-of-page bid ranges, and results can be filtered by industry and location. WordStream says the volume data comes from Google’s keyword research API and that it shows concrete volumes rather than ranges.

Long Tail Pro: Desktop Keyword Research Tool

Long Tail Pro began as a desktop keyword research tool for Windows and Mac users, but it is no longer available. As of September 2026, the longtailpro.com domain shows an unrelated business, and industry reports say the service went offline in 2024 after changing owners. It allows the users in creating projects within the application with some keywords. Former Long Tail Pro users should move to one of the active tools on this list.

SpyFu: Brother of SEMrush

SpyFu is a competitor keyword research tool similar to Semrush that shows the SEO and PPC keywords other sites rank for and buy ads on. Its homepage has a free search box, while full results need a paid plan: as of September 2026, the Basic plan costs $39 per month ($29 per month billed annually) with a 30-day money-back guarantee. The data which this tool displays in the keyword research finder includes related keywords, search volume, a rate for the keyword, and CPC.

Keyword Tool Pro: Accurate Keyword Research Tool

Keyword Tool Pro is a keyword planner which allows the users in finding relevant keywords with least competition and high search volume. It does expose more keywords than the Google Keyword Planner and gives a wider option of keywords. It even has the Google Search ‘autocomplete’ feature which helps in finding the hidden keywords as well. As of September 2026, Keyword Tool Pro offers no free trial; every plan has a 30-day money-back guarantee instead, and plans start at $88 per month ($68 per month billed annually). It pulls autocomplete data from 16 platforms, including Google, YouTube, Bing, Amazon and TikTok.

Term Explorer: Suite of Tools

Term Explorer was a bulk keyword research tool, but it does not appear to be available any more: as of September 2026, termexplorer.com redirects to a different domain that returned a server error when checked. When it was active, it offered a few free keyword searches before asking users to sign up. It is a tool which looks up for the requested keywords and gives the relevant metrics with the search volume with CPC and difficulty index.

So, these are the top 10 Google Keyword Planner alternatives you should use. I know there are some more alternatives as well and if you think any one of those is worth to get a place in this list, then don’t forget to share the details with all of us in the comments below. 🙂

Google Keyword Planner Alternatives Compared

The table below shows the status of each tool on this list as of September 2026, taken from each vendor’s own website. Prices change often, so check the vendor’s pricing page before buying.

Free Ways to Research Keywords Without Keyword Planner

Free keyword research is possible without paying for a suite. The free options below were confirmed on each provider’s site in September 2026.

• WordStream Free Keyword Tool: enter a keyword or a website URL and get related keywords with search volume, competition and bid ranges; the list downloads as a CSV.
• Semrush Free: a free account gives 10 reports per day across its main tools and one demo project.
• Ahrefs free tools: a free keyword generator and a keyword difficulty checker, plus Ahrefs Free, which shows up to 1,000 keywords your verified site already ranks for.
• Moz Keyword Explorer: free keyword research with a Moz account.
• Google Trends: a free Google research tool for comparing interest in search terms; it is useful for spotting trends but is not a keyword planner.

For more free options, see our list of free keyword research tools and our review of Ubersuggest as a free keyword tool.

How to Choose a Keyword Planner Alternative

The right Google Keyword Planner alternative depends on what you need the data for. Use these criteria:

1. Purpose: for Google Ads budgets, cost-per-click data matters most (WordStream, SpyFu); for SEO, you need keyword difficulty and a view of the pages already ranking (Semrush, Ahrefs, Moz).
2. Volume data: check whether the tool shows exact monthly figures or ranges, and where the data comes from. WordStream and Keyword Tool say their Google volumes come from Google’s own data.
3. Long-tail discovery: autocomplete-based tools such as Keyword Tool Pro and ScrapeBox’s keyword scraper surface question and long-tail phrases that planner-based tools can miss.
4. Budget and billing: compare monthly and annual prices, money-back guarantees and free tiers before committing; ScrapeBox is the only one-time purchase on this list.
5. Vendor health: Long Tail Pro and Term Explorer show that keyword tools can disappear, so be cautious with long prepaid or lifetime deals from small vendors.

Once you have a keyword list, our keyword guide for SEO explains how to use it, and our guide to mobile search keyword research covers mobile queries. Advertisers facing high bids can read how to cut costs on expensive keywords.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Google Keyword Planner still free?

Google Keyword Planner is still free. Google describes it as a free resource for advertisers, but you need a Google Ads account, and Google asks you to create a campaign and add billing details before you can use keyword ideas.

Why does Keyword Planner show ranges instead of exact search volume?

Keyword Planner shows ranges because, since 2016, Google has limited search volume output for accounts with lower or no monthly ad spend. Accounts with active campaigns see more detailed figures.

What is the best free alternative to Google Keyword Planner?

WordStream’s Free Keyword Tool is the closest free alternative, because it shows search volume, competition and bid ranges at no cost and, according to WordStream, can be run as many times as you like. The free tiers of Semrush, Ahrefs and Moz add keyword difficulty and competitor data within daily or monthly limits.

Is Long Tail Pro still available?

Long Tail Pro is no longer available. As of September 2026 its former domain shows an unrelated business, and industry reports say the service went offline in 2024.

Is ScrapeBox safe to use for keyword research?

ScrapeBox’s keyword scraper is a straightforward way to collect autocomplete suggestions, but the software is widely associated with black hat SEO. Using it only for keyword research, and within each search engine’s terms of service, keeps the risk low.

Which tool is best for competitor keyword research?

SpyFu, Semrush and Ahrefs are the main options for competitor keyword research on this list. Each shows the keywords a competing domain ranks for, and SpyFu also shows the keywords competitors buy ads on.

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