Look here’s the thing. We don’t necessarily recommend replacing Screaming Frog with MetaMonster, at least not yet. We’re a new tool and we’re still growing. But MetaMonster makes an awesome addition to your toolset that you can use alongside Screaming Frog. And either way, comparing it to Screaming Frog will help you see how (and if) it could fit into your workflow.
Better user experience, simpler interface
You won’t find a feature comparison chart on this page. If we tried to compete with Screaming Frog on features it would take us years. Screaming Frog can give you tables on tables of data about your website. It’s cheap, and it can do just about anything your standard SEO crawler can do.
But it’s kind of a lot. The interface is overwhelming, especially for new users. Maybe you’re already a pro, but if you ever want to bring on junior analysts to work with you then having easy-to-use tools makes a big difference.
And we’re not sure all of that data actually matters.
With MetaMonster you can still crawl a site and view all of your data in tables. But we don’t clutter the interface with every potential issue imaginable. You gradually add the data you care about.
Built to fix issues, not just find them
The biggest difference between Screaming Frog and MetaMonster is that MetaMonster is built to fix issues, not just find them. And we do that with our AI-native approach to SEO optimization.
While Screaming Frog has added several AI features in recent months, they’re a traditional site audit tool at their core. They have done a good job of giving users control and flexibility over their prompts, but the experience is still hidden away in layers of settings and configuration. And you have to bring your own API keys and write your own prompts (outside of a handful of examples).
With MetaMonster, we handle all of that for you. So with the push of a button you can generate optimizations for as many pages as you want. No need to edit javascript or be a prompt engineer. And because we’ve been built with AI at the center from the ground up, we have the flexibility to grow quickly to keep up with all the change in the industry.
Automatic vector embeddings and AI chat
Lots of users have been excited about ScreamingFrog’s new vector embeddings feature. You can plug in an OpenAI API key and generate vector embeddings to start looking for similarities in your content the way that LLMs do.
With MetaMonster, we automatically generate vector embeddings for all of your site content when we crawl your site. No need to plugin an API key or configure anything. And we give you an AI chat interface so you can search and analyze your content with the help of your favorite LLM.
Publish directly to your CMS
MetaMonster also comes with native CMS integrations so that you can publish your updates directly to your CMS from the tool. No more copying and pasting between Screaming Frog, spreadsheets, and your website. With MetaMonster, you can make sure your optimizations actually get implemented so your clients start seeing value right away.
We’re launching with WordPress and CSV export, but have plans to add Shopify, Webflow, Ghost, and more very soon.
Built (and priced) for teams
MetaMonster is built for teams, and our pricing reflects that. All plans include unlimited users, whereas Screaming Frog costs $259 per year per license. That means if you have 3 or more users, and are on our base plan, MetaMonster is actually more affordable than Screaming Frog.
And because MetaMonster is a modern, cloud-based SaaS tool, all of your team members can access the same crawl results and metadata updates.
Screaming Frog Alternatives
So if you’re considering switching from Screaming Frog (or adding to it), here are your best options. We’re biased so of course we think we’re the best one, but we’ve included some others you should know about as well.
MetaMonster - MetaMonster will crawl your site to find missing or broken metadata, generate fixes for you at the push of a button, and then publish directly to your CMS. Stop wasting time copying and pasting between Screaming Frog, ChatGPT, Google Sheets, and WordPress.
SiteBulb - SiteBulb has a desktop and a cloud option. Their user interface is a little more modern than Screaming Frog’s and they say they can handle crawls of larger websites better than SF. They also put a lot of emphasis on JavaScript crawling. The desktop version starts at $11.25 per month for 1 user, and the cloud version starts at $245 per month for two users.
SemRush - SemRush’s technical SEO tools will allow you to crawl your website similar to Screaming Frog. SemRush also provides comprehensive keyword research tools of course, and a powerful toolset for any SEO. Pricing starts at $139.95 per month for one user.
ahrefs - Like SemRush, ahrefs is a comprehensive SEO tool largely focused on keyword research and planning. With their audit tools you can also find technical issues with your site. And some of their free tools will even help you generate metadata for one-off pages. Pricing starts at $129 per month for one user.
Scrutiny - Scrutiny is a Mac app that runs on your desktop similar to Screaming Frog. It has a similar design and user experience, but is even cheaper than Screaming Frog. A license costs $149 one-time.
Augment Screaming Frog with MetaMonster
If you’re looking for a Screaming Frog alternative, check out MetaMonster! MetaMonster is easy-to-use, built and priced for teams, can generate optimizations for you, and can publish directly to your CMS. You can join our waiting list using the link below to get updates and first access to the tool when we launch.
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